An Impossible Photo
by rhinosgirl
Summary: When his daughter, Tali, is kidnapped, Tony DiNozzo turns to his former boss, NCIS Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, for help. When a photo is unearthed that threatens his way of life and challenges everything he believes, Gibbs has to decide whether to return the favor. AU
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I can't believe it's been two years since I've submitted a story! I promise, I haven't forgot you guys. But this past 18 months has been very hard for me. As well as dealing with the death of my sister from cancer, I have had multiple surgeries. Recovery has at times stopped me writing for a month or more. Hopefully, things will get better from here on in.**

**A/N2: 'Ema' & 'Aba' are variant spellings of 'Ima' & 'Abba'. I have deliberately used these spellings to honor people who have helped me plan and write this story.**

NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS

Tali David di Nozzo, you are one devious, cheeky imp. If you weren't so cute - Tony di Nozzo centered his attention back on his daughter as he dished up the evening meal. "Why do you think we need to go and visit Uncle Mack at his shop?"

"Aunty Fliss is still away. I want to give him a hug so he won't be lonely." Tali carefully set a knife and fork by her dinner plate.

"We could do that tonight."

Tali stared pointedly at the clock on the wall. "No time. I need to go to bed soon."

Tony nodded. "That you do. Okay, we can drop in for a few minutes tomorrow morning before we go to the library to get some more books."

Tali pursed her lips. "I think we will need to stay more than a few minutes. Uncle Mack might want to show me some new things, after all."

Knowing his best friend, Tony could quite believe it. Mack Narcisse would spend the whole day carting Tali around "showing" her the "new things" in his shop if he was allowed.

"Any new things in particular?" Seeing his five year old daughter start to squirm, Tony smirked. If I can just get her to confess I might get away with spending less than a thousand dollars. I call that a win.

"I don't like my room, Aba."

Tony served her her plate of food from behind so she couldn't see him grit his teeth and swallow hard. Her whole room? Maybe I won't win after all. Back in control, he sat down facing her, his place of food in front of him.

"Thank you, Aba."

"You're welcome." Tony grinned. "So, you don't like your room, huh?"

Tali nodded vigorously while chewing a mouthful of sausage.

"What don't you like about it?"

"I can't play ball in there."

Tony held up his hand. "We've already that discussion, Miss. Balls are for outside. There are too many things that can get broken in your room."

Tali set down her cutlery and started counting on her fingers. "We can get rid of the mirror. There's one in the bathroom if I need it. And the carpet. Balls don't bounce good on carpet. And I can get rid of some of my clothes so they fit in the drawers we got from Ema's house."

Ema. Tali's mother. Also known as Ziva David. Also known as The Woman Tony Truly Loved. After her death, Tony was hellbent on finding those responsible and bringing them to some kind of justice, legal or otherwise. Even having three-year- old Tali dumped into his life didn't sway him. Tony put his apartment up for rent, stored all his belongings, and got on the first plane to Israel, Tali in tow. They had only been there a couple of weeks when Tony realised that the investigation wasn't solving the mystery surrounding Ziva's death at all. It was merely exposing Tali to the David family and, by association, Mossad. It was then that Tony realised that in order for the living to stay alive, the dead had to stay dead. So late one night Tony hired a private pilot and he and his daughter fled Israel.

"Can I, Aba? Can I? Please?"

Tony's memories were cut short just in time to see Tali's chair tip backwards as she bounced excitedly. He caught it and reprimanded her for her dangerous behaviour. Undaunted, she repeated her request, albeit while being seated and still.

"Why?" Tony asked, hoping the deflection would be enough to stop Tali realising that he hadn't been listening to her.

"Because I want to sleep in a pirate ship!" Tali put her last forkful food in her mouth, then put her cutlery down. She interlaced her fingers and leant forward. "You weren't listening to me, were you?"

Finishing his meal, Tony picked his daughter up and swung her around. "You need a better reason than "I want one" before I go to that expense." He plopped her back on her chair. "You try and think of one while I'm getting dessert."

When Tony came back he kissed Tali on the top of her head and placed a bowl of vanilla ice cream and peaches in front of her. Sitting down, he raised an eyebrow.

"You could make money by selling it when I'm too tall for it," Tali suggested. "Or you could give it away to charity and make another child really happy too."

"Those are both very good reasons," Tony praised her. "But I think we need another opinion, don't you?"

"Papa Gibbs!" Tali rushed through her dessert, then helped her father clear the table and load the dishwasher. "Aba, set up the computer."

"Please," Tony replied automatically, while walking toward his office to fetch his laptop. It still rankled that his daughter felt closer to a man she'd never met in person than she did to her own paternal grandfather. Contrary to the promises he'd made when Tali first arrived in America, Anthony di Nozzo Senior had only met her three times. And his total of video and phone calls wasn't that much bigger, even adding in the successful ones Tony and Tali had made to him. Emails, letters, and cards were rarer than a blue moon appearing in the sky.

"Please?" Tali yelled after him, before the both of them started laughing.

"Lucky for you it's Sunday night," Tony turned the laptop on. "That means it's Sunday afternoon for Papa Gibbs. If we're lucky, he'll be home." Tony clicked the link to connect the call. "Let's see if he remembered what you showed him last time."

"And the time before that. And the time before that." Tali tapped her fingers on the edge of the table.

"Tali! How's my favourite little girl?"

Tali crossed her arms and pouted. "I'm not little, Papa Gibbs. I'm five now, remember?" She held up her hands, fingers splayed to show her pseudo-grandfather how old she was.

"Yep, five going on fifteen." Tony swooped Tali up, sat in her seat, and dropped her onto his lap. "Hi, Boss."

"Hi, Tony. How's the new apartment?"

"I thought it was fine." He inclined his head. "But this jumping bean has been doing the redecorating jig ever since she came up with an idea over dinner. She couldn't wait to ring you up and tell you all about it."

"You need to tell Aba how to build me a pirate ship bed," Tali proclaimed. "It has to be bigger than me, though, because I'm still growing. I won't stop until I'm old like you, Papa Gibbs. It needs to be big enough for a friend to play in it with me when they come to see me. It needs a flagpole and a flag. It needs a lookout, too."

As Gibbs listened to Tali prattle on, he held his cell phone under the table and began texting Tony.

You didn't suspect that, did you?

I definitely didn't :-S I thought she was talking about sheets and blankets.

Rule Eight, di Nozzo.

I know, Boss. Never take anything for granted.

Especially with young precocious five going on fifteen year old girls haha. So how can I help?

I'll get back to you on that.

"Okay,Tali. Time to say goodbye to Papa Gibbs and get ready for bed."

After a token protest, the connection was broken and Tony and Tali began their evening routine. Later as they cuddled together for a bedtime story, Tali grinned.

"Aba, if Papa Gibbs makes my bed, he'll have to come and visit to bring it to me, won't he?"

As promised, the David-di Nozzo family went shopping the next day.

"This one, Aba."

Tony looked at the paint sample Tali was fingering. He tipped it to read the name: Unpeeled Aubergine. "It's very dark," he said doubtfully.

"But I like it," Tali protested.

Not for the first time, Tony asked himself what the hell happened to his daughter in Israel that she would like such morbid stuff. "What about this one?" He moved a few steps to his right and looked up and down before he found what he wanted. "See? It's really nice."

Tali took the paint sample pottle off her father and looked at the colour disc on the top of it. "It's pink." She screwed up her nose. "Pink is yucky!"

"It's not pink, it's Watermelon Squeeze," Tony protested. "Anyway, what's so yucky about pink?"

"It's girly!" Tali protested.

Tony thought about pointing out the obvious, but paint colour seemed to be the easier of the two arguments to win. "So, not Watermelon Squeeze. What about Torchlight?"

"Too bright."

"Okay." Tony put his finger on another paint sample card.

"That's the colour of carrots!" Tali wrinkled her nose. With her hands on her hips, she declared, "Aba, I want that black one."

"It's too dark. When you come home from school it's going to be impossible for you to see when you sit on your bed to read. You'll have to sit out on the settee instead."

"What's impossible mean?" Tali cocked her head to the side.

"It means its not going to happen." Tony snatched the pottle and put it back on the shelf. "How about we go and look at some quilts and shelves and things while we're waiting for Uncle Mack to find us?" Maybe if I can convince her to get a colorful quilt or sheet or something I can show her that it won't look good at all with dark purple painted walls. Who would have thought that allowing a five year old girl to help with decorating her own bedroom would be such a mission? I thought that we would just walk in, grab some light paint, floral wallpaper, and a girly pillow or two. But no, I have to have the only preteen girl in the world who is wanting to be a Goth before she even gets to school. Speaking of Goths, remind me to never introduce her to Abby until she gets to be about, oh, probably forty or so. Tony's thoughts were dragged back to the present by a squeal.

"Aba! Aba! I want this blanket. Aba! Get me this one. Please?"

Dreading what he was going to see, Tony inspected Tali's find. Well, at least it's an actual basketball, not a multi colored paintball spray. He picked up another one from a nearby shelf. "How about this one?"

"It's a princess!" Tali protested. "But at least it's not pink," she conceded. She looked around at the other princess bedspreads, dismissed them, then walked over to the bedspread at the end of the row. "How about this one?" Tony looked askance at the abstract lime green pattern splashed over a light purple background. "Look at it, Aba." Tali traced part of the pattern. "It's got stars on it here, so I can think of Ema. It's got boats on it here, so I can think of Papa Gibbs and it's got a ball there so I can remember everything you taught me about baseball. And its not dark," she pointed out as if that clinched a win for her in this battle. Then she saw another one. "Or this one." She went over to it. "Yes, Aba. I like this one! I want this one!" Tali pulled it off the display bed and dragged it over to Tony.

"Tali! You shouldn't have done that!" Tony lifted the bedspread so it was no longer dragging on the ground. "That was put there by someone who works here so that people who come in here can see what it looks like before they buy it." He gently pulled Tali over to the bed. "Here, help me put it back on, and then I'll look at it, okay?"

"Okay, Aba. I'm sorry," Tali whispered. She grabbed one corner of the heavy quilt and dragged it to the corner she thought it should go to. Gently and patiently Tony helped her straighten the quilt out so the corners were in the right place. Then he instructed her on how to neatly tuck in the corners. When that didn't work, he knelt behind her and showed her.

"There. Do think you can do the next corner yourself?" Tali bit her tongue and nodded determinedly. Tony moved them on to the next corner. Pausing to think, Tali started slowly reconstructing the folded corner as she had been shown. She pulled it out a couple of times, but finally it was perfect. Tony swept her up in his arms, stood up, then twirled her around, congratulating and praising her on her achievement. He stopped when he heard clapping behind them.

"Uncle Mack!" Tali scrambled down and ran over to him.

Mack Narcisse looked at his best friend. "Hi, Tony. Is there any reason you decided to bring your daughter here to teach her how to make her bed?"

Tony wanted to smile, but he resisted the urge. "Tali," he said sternly. "Tell Uncle Mack what you did."

Mack stepped back. He had been just about to pick her up, but he decided to wait and see how this played out instead. Sure enough, the lower lip tremble started and the eyes lowered. The result was what he had been given to believe the Americans called a "puppy dog look." He also realised that Tali did it mostly when she wanted to get out of trouble, or get something she shouldn't really have.

"I'm sorry, Uncle Mack," she whispered.

Mack knelt down. "Sorry for what?" he prompted.

"I pulled the quilt off the bed to show Aba, when I should have waited for Aba to come and look at it. It might be dirty now, I think."

Mack stood. "Let's have a look."

The trio went to inspect Tali's efforts. Mack swept the girl into his arms. "It's tucked in really well," he commended her. "And it's clean. Just don't do it again. If Aba has to spend all his money on dirty things, he won't have any money left for new things."

"I won't," Tali promised.

Mack kissed her on the temple and set her down. "Why are you looking at quilts?"

"Aba said I could buy some new things for my new bedroom."

"That's exciting! How about you show me what else you've chosen so far?"

Tali nodded enthusiastically, then she glared at her father. "Aba wants me to get pink paint and a princess quilt! I hate to think what he would want me to get for curtains," she declared.

Mack tried hard not to laugh, and as he looked over Tali's shoulder he could tell Tony didn't know whether to laugh or cry either. He let Tali go. " Hold up! I'm going to fall over if you go too fast!"

Tali slowed from a fast run to a slow run. She pranced around the furniture department of the store. "I want this bed and this shelf and my clothes can go here and-"

"Hold it," Tony said. "I need to look at them first. How about for today we just buy some paint and maybe some wallpaper, and come back for the rest later?"

"But if I don't get it all today, when we come back it'll all be gone!" Tali was near tears again. Mack pulled a pen and paper out of his pocket and showed it to her. "No worries. We can write it all down on this pad here and when you're ready I'll make sure to get it for you. There's absolutely no way you can miss out on it then." He sat cross legged on the floor, making sure he wouldn't be in the way of any other customers, not that there were that many in his vicinity. "Okay, the first thing I need to know is your name. In fact, why don't you write it for me?" He guided Tali to sit in his lap.

Tony wandered around the other displays, thinking he might treat himself to a new bed as well.

A commotion up at the front area of the store caught Tony's attention. He gestured to Mack. Putting his finger over Tali's lips, Mack slowly stood up with the girl in his arms. Moving to the back of the store, Mack mustered as many customers as he could find into the back office.

As he crept toward the danger zone, Tony made sure he was always hidden from the perp. He didn't know how he knew it was a perp, he just knew it was. Obviously sensing perpness was a skill he had picked up as a byproduct of spending fifteen years under the tutelage of Leroy Jethro Gibbs, the best boss Tony had ever had. As he advanced, he motioned for the customers he saw to silently make their way to the back of the store. They all complied - until he came across a woman who wouldn't leave him alone. She said she "just wanted to help" but Tony had seen so many of those types of people that he could translate that sentence into "I just want to be a hero and get my fifteen minutes of fame!" He told her the best thing she could do to help was to go to the back of the store and help the staff members back there to keep the other customers quiet.

Finally rid of her and in view of the front counter, Tony could hear a man demanding something in a thick accent. Tony ducked behind a sofa and peered around the side of it.

At the counter, a young agitated man repeated his demands. He didn't seem to be an imminent threat, but there was something glinting in the vicinity of his right hip. It was possibly a button or maybe something in the counter case. But it was also possibly a gun.

Tony peered around a tall accessory stand. He was finally close enough to hear what the suspect was demanding.

"I want wallabies! Wallabies! All your wallabies!"

Tony's vantage point gave him a clearer picture of what was going on. Eight people were lying face down on the floor with their hands over their heads. The robber was now openly brandishing something at the checkout operator, who was trying to tell him that they didn't have any wallabies. The robber insisted they did. Each time the checkout operator demurred, the robber got more agitated. Finally, they grabbed the frightened checkout operator and dragged them around to the customers' side of the counter. Brandishing what Tony could now clearly see was a gun, the robber raised his voice. "Wallabies! All their wallabies! In their pockets! I want them all in this bag." He indicated a brown satchel at his feet.

The checkout operator emptied out their pockets. "I don't have any wallabies, but you can have everything I do have. Just please leave." They dropped all the contents into the bag hurriedly, so hurriedly that a large diamond ring landed on the floor. As the checkout operator bent down the robber started berating them.

"That's a wallaby. I want that wallaby. All the wallabies."

The checkout operator finally seemed to understand that they were being asked for 'valuables'. They started to gather up all the electronics and jewelry that they found on and around the bodies of the hostages. Tony was glad that each customer that was touched then responded non-aggressively. There was also no apparent blood on the floor. Hopefully, this could be resolved peacefully.

Tony grabbed an aerosol can that he had jimmied open, then pulled his identification from his wallet. He put the wallet back in his jacket pocket. Opening the ID so the robber could see it and holding the spray can up threateningly, he moved so the perp could see him. "Stop or I'll shoot."

The perp whirled around to confront his opponent, dropping his gun on the counter.

Taking advantage of the distraction, the checkout operator jumped on the back of the robber, and wrapped their legs around the perp's waist. They were a dead weight on the robber's back. Between the two of them, the would be robber subdued while multiple phone calls were made to the police.

The police arrived, took the suspect into custody, cleared the back room, and took witness statements.

After the kerfuffle had died down and everyone had left, Mack and Tony escorted Tali around the shop, helping her pick out paint, wallpaper, furnishings and decorations. Everything she picked out, either Tony or Mack paid for. They wanted her to some good memories of the day.

"Have you got storage for the bigger stuff while you do the painting and papering?" Mack looked at the stack of boxes, cans, and miscellaneous packages crammed into the trolleys they were pushing towards Tony's vehicle. "Or do you want me to store some of it while Fliss is away?"

"I thought we'd get it professionally done." Mack and Tali stared at Tony. "We are not doing this ourselves," Tony stated firmly.

"Why not?" Tali grasped Tony's hand on one side and Mack's on the other. "Ema always said 'Always work as a team' and 'You don't waste good' and we're both. "

"Your Ema listened to Papa Gibbs far too much." Tony's tone was fond. "You really think that between the three of us we can get the job done?"

Tali's curls bounced as she nodded enthusiastically.

Tony held his hands up. "Okay. We'll give it a go. If it doesn't work, we can always move in with Uncle Mack until we've cleaned up the mess."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks to everyone for all the reads, alerts, and favourites. This chapter is slightly shorter than the last one. I don't usually write such long chapters, but this one has turned out best that way - at least for the 10 chapters I have ready for posting.**

**-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS**

The next morning, Tony rolled over in bed, pulling Tali closer into his chest. Tony lifted his head high enough to check the time on the bedside clock. Despite the harrowing events of the day before, Tali had not woken even once during the night. Tony didn't know whether to be scared or relieved. Deciding to leave that decision to a time when it needed to be made, he slowly slid out of bed.

Half an hour later, he was starting to cook breakfast.

"Aba, where's my clothes?"

Tony picked up his daughter and twirled her around. "Good morning, sleepyhead. Uncle Mack came over after you went to sleep last night. He helped me put Ema's drawers and your bed into the spare room so we can paint and wallpaper your room."

"Okay." Tali kissed Tony on the cheek then scrambled to the ground. "I'll go get dressed." She ran off without waiting for an answer. When she returned to the table, she and attacked her breakfast with gusto.

"Aba! Hurry up!"

Tony looked up from his plate. It had been barely ten minutes since Tali had sat down. "We can't do anything until Uncle Mack arrives. You need to drink your juice," he directed mildly.

"I'm not thirsty," Tali protested.

Tony put his knife and fork down. "We're not leaving this table until you've finished."

Tali huffed, but obeyed. Dishes done, father and daughter raced upstairs. Just as they got there, Tony's phone rang.

"Bad news, sweetheart. Uncle Mack got called into work for an emergency. He'll come around as soon as he can." He looked around and grabbed a long ruler, a pencil, a block of wood and a piece of sandpaper off the window sill. He gave the wood and sandpaper to Tali.

"This is what Papa Gibbs uses!" Tali enthused.

"It sure is," Tony agreed. He shook his head and grabbed his pencil and ruler. "While we're waiting for Uncle Mack, let's start preparing the wall. See how high you can reach." Grinning with pride, Tony marked a point almost one and a half metres above the ground, then extended it right across the wall. He showed Tali how to cover the wood with the sandpaper and how to rough up the wall. "You work below the line and I'll work above it. Race you!"

After spending an enjoyable morning together, father and daughter teamed together to prepare the midday meal. Soon the flavors of ragu alla salsiccia were making themselves apparent in the air.

"Where's Uncle Mack?" Tali asked. "He is going to be here in time to eat, isn't he?" Tony was just putting the garlic bread in the oven to stay warm when Tali heard a car pull up outside, and answered his own question. "He's here!"

"Tali David DiNozzo! Don't you dare sock slide up the hallway!" Tony yelled.

"Spoilsport!" Tali yelled back. Just as Aba had taught her, Tali looked through the peephole in the door before she swung it wide open. "Uncle Mack!" she greeted him gleefully. "Aba and I made lunch."

Mack said, "Smells good." He passed Tali and put a box of beers in the fridge for later on. "What is it?"

"Ragu alla salsiccia," Tony reported in a posh Italian accent.

"Sausages in tomato sauce," Tali translated.

"What was the emergency?" Tony asked.

"Tell you later." As Tali wrapped her hands around his legs, Mack reached around and shifted her to the front of him.

"Sounds serious." Tony remarked.

"I'll tell you later," Mack repeated. "What's with the cooking? Did you finally put the pizza shop out of business?"

"He made us cook." Even from behind, Mack could see Tali's pout. "And I wanted to see Bastien!"

"I rung the shop. Their power is off. No power, no ovens. No ovens, no pizza. No pizza, no Bastien. So I went for Italian instead."

"And the DiNozzo Italian restaurant doesn't serve pizza?" Mack leaned forward and raised an eyebrow.

"We ran out of pepperoni so Aba couldn't make a pepperoni, sausage, and extra cheese," Tali piped up. "And we both know that's only pizza Aba eats."

"Hey!" Tony snapped the end of a tea towel toward his daughter.

Mack caught it and pulled it out of Tony's hand. "Your Aba needs to broaden his pizza repertoire. Slices of tomato, mozzarella, and basil, for instance."

"No tomato sauce!?" Tony put his hands over his mouth in shock.

Tali giggled.

"No sauce of any sort," Mack confirmed. "Just the fresh juices all mingling together. No flavor overpowering any other.

"But that's the best part of the pepperoni, sausage, and extra cheese pizza. Each one is different, depending on who makes it."

Mack patted Tali on the shoulder. "What do you think, Tali? Doesn't my pizza sound nicer than Aba's?"

Tali shrugged her shoulders. "I'd have to taste it before I know."

"Good answer. Tony, is there anything we can do to help?"

Taking Mack's hint, Tony directed Tali and Mack to set the table.

"Italy's where your father's father's father came from, isn't it, Aba?" Tali enquired as they started eating.

Mack calculated back. "Just close enough to get you guys Italian passports."

Tony nodded. At least, Senior had been good for something. Not liking where he knew his thoughts would head if he let them, Tony changed the subject. "How's Fliss enjoying her holiday?"

Mack's eyes lit up at the thought of his fiance. "Very much! There's still about a week before her sister's baby is due, I think."

"They're staying at their parent's place in Virginia, aren't they?"

Mack shook his head. "Fliss is. Erica, she's the pregnant one, and her husband only live about ten minutes away. It's Fliss' first niece or nephew, but to hear her speak, you'd think it was the first baby to be born ever."

After the meal was over, Tali jumped down from her chair.

"Now can we go upstairs?"

Tony laughed. "You have to clear the table and put the dishes in the dishwasher. Then we can go upstairs."

Tali stuck her bottom lip out. Before she could speak, Tony pointed toward the kitchen.

"I'll do it after the room is finished." Tali fluttered her eyelashes.

Tony pointed toward the kitchen.

"I'll cook you dinner," Tali tried to bargain.

Tony pointed toward the kitchen.

Defeated, Tali trudged out of the room with a pile of plates.

Mack laughed. Tony and Tali made such an adorable duo, and this house was already so inviting and comfortable compared to the dump he and Fliss were living in. He was honored to help enhance the vibe.

After he'd ruled the kitchen was clean enough, Tony chased his daughter upstairs. She, in turn, chased Mack.

"You go and show Uncle Mack where everything is going to go."

Tali pulled Mack into her bedroom. Mack was immediately reminded of the adage "The customer is alway right". He sighed. I need to find a place of work that allows me to tell a customer that their interior decorating palette sucks. Even when the customer is only five.

"Let's go see what Aba needs."

Over the next hour the trio prepared, puttied, and painted four skirting boards, one wall, and the trim of both windows.

"Sorry, baby girl. This next bit is for me and Uncle Mack to do all alone. Miss Persson-Kebdra is waiting for you next door. I'll come and get you when you're needed to help Uncle Mack hang your curtains."

"You can't use my help at all?"

Tony shook his head. "Sorry, no. Come on, let's get clean. Miss Persson-Kebdra doesn't need sawdust in her house."

Ten minutes later, Tony returned alone. "We'll have to hurry. Ingrid's going to have her hands full keeping Tali occupied, even with Gretchen's help."

"It's a very interesting choice of color. In fact, I can't believe that kaleidoscope passed muster." Mack cut a strip of blue and white striped wallpaper for Tony to place on the third wall in a row. "Blue walls and a yellow ceiling? What were you thinking?"

Tony shrugged. "Don't forget the spotted carpet your mate has the pleasure of installing once everything is dry. Tali is a big girl now. She's just about to start school. Definitely intelligent enough to decide what her and her friends are going to be looking at for the next ten years."

"Ten years? You're going to make Tali, and her friends, stare at this until she's fifteen?" Mack pressed an air bubble out of the wallpaper.

"You were going to say "suffer though" weren't you?" Tony gave his friend a sideways glance, nodding at the wall where an air bubble bigger than his fist was staring him in the face. "This is suffering and I'm not going through it again. Ever." Mack laughed. "But then again, I could always ask you. I'm guessing it'll be another two years before Tali starts picking out another paint colour. By that time you'll have finished your studies, have your own business, and be one of the most famous and sought after Parisian interior decorators."

"Yeah, about that. I'm glad you sent Tali next door. We need to talk."

Tony noticed Mack's grim look and stepped away from the wall. "What's up?" When Mack turned away to continue the job, Tony grabbed his friend's arm. Pulling Mack back around, Tony demanded, "Mack! What's wrong? Come on, man! Tell me!"

Mack set down his tools and swiped at his eyes. "One of the female customers holed up with us in the back of the store during the robbery has complained about me. She claimed Tali and I were too close to be in a "normal" uncle and niece relationship. My boss tried to fire me on the spot and trespass me from the premises. I threatened to file a wrongful dismissal claim against him if he did so he instead initiated an investigation into the allegation. The upshot is that I am suspended without pay for two weeks. At least he promised to keep me fully up to date with all the findings. That's something, I guess."

"You need to get legal advice." Tony wiped his hands. "I can give you a name."

"I can't afford a lawyer. And no, you're not going to pay for one for me. I'm just going to wait for the outcome of the investigation. If things go against me, then I'll seek legal advice."

"No. You need to get it now." Tony pocketed his phone. "I've texted you a name. Contact her. She'll give you sound advice."

"I'll think about it." Mack picked up his paintbrush. "Hey, if the worst comes about, I'll just move to America with Fliss. She'll like that. But right now, I either get paid to sit on my backside for the next two weeks, or quit now with no pay and no reference. I choose to get paid."

"Come and stay with us until Fliss gets back."

"No way." Mack leaned forward and hissed, "You could be arrested for child endangerment. We could both go down. Where would Tali be then?"

"Washington, D C. It's in my will." Tony took Mack's paintbrush and stored everything away. "You're getting way ahead of yourself. Nothing like that is going to happen during the next fourteen days. So until day fifteen, at least, you're staying here. No arguments. Grab my car keys. I'll tell Tali where we're going and meet you at the car."

"Where are we going?" Realizing he was talking to an empty room, Mack did as he was told. A quarter of an hour later, they were parked at the end of the street Mack and Fliss lived on. Fifteen minutes after that, they had navigated the cluttered hallways and dingy stairwells to the fourth floor to their apartment.

Mack pushed his front door open. Once inside, Tony threw his car keys into a bowl on a shelf near the door.

"My boss is going to want to interview you, at least, and possibly Tali about what happened."

Tony shrugged. "Until then, Uncle Mack is having a holiday. Just like Aunt Fliss is."

"I'm not going anywhere." Mack flopped down sideways on the sofa.

"So what exactly are you going to do for the next two weeks?"

"Clean up, for one."

Tony wiped the shelf with a finger. He held it up. It was pristine. "This flat has the area of a postage stamp. So, that's day one sorted. Two, if you decide to deep clean the carpet, walls, and ceiling. Come on, you know I'm right. Next?" When Mack didn't respond, Tony continued. He weighed each argument, dropping and lifting his hands as if they were Zodiac scales. "On the one hand, you can strengthen your case to your boss by accepting my invite to live with us for two weeks. On the other hand, you can lie awake for fourteen nights in a row worrying about whether you will ever get another job or not. On the one hand, you have two days of hard work followed by twelve days of going from friend to friend begging them to keep you busy. On the other hand, fourteen days of helping Tali decorate her room and arrange her soft toys. On the one hand, wasting your money on gas driving all over Paris just to fill in your day. On the other hand, helping Tali read books with four syllable words I've never heard of." Mack huffed in amusement. Tony glared at him. "Don't. I only started learning French properly when I decided we were going to stay here. I'm still learning. Now where was I?"

Mack stood up and threw his hands up in the air. "Persuading me to spend the next two weeks under your roof, apparently. Sit there and gloat. I'll just throw some things in a bag." When he returned Tony was still chuckling. That stopped when he saw exactly what Mack was taking with him.

"Since when do bags breed?" He picked one up. "And what exactly do you have in here? Rocks?"

"You did say I'd be reading Tali books with four syllable words." Mack picked up the other two bags. "Lead the way."

"Maximilien! Maximilien Narcisse!"

Mack, who had been about to step onto the stairs leading to the first floor, jerked back. "Ow! Clotilde! I've told you before. Stop yelling at me!"

Tony picked the fallen bag up off Mack's foot. "I'll meet you out at the car."

Mack turned around. "What do you want?"

"Your girlfriend's broken up with you, has she? You need to give a month's notice before moving out or you lose your security deposit. Of course, we could discuss it over a drink and come to some sort of other arrangement. Where are you going, anyway?"

Mack started down the stairs. "I don't have to tell you anything about my relationship status or my comings and goings. And yes, I remember I have to give you thirty days notice before I move out or I'll lose my security deposit." With that, Mack let the door close heavily behind him.

"Who was that?" Tony roared the engine to life.

Mack threw his bags onto the back seat and slid into the front. "Someone who will never get what she wants." He pulled out his wallet. "I'm not broke yet. Pizza for dinner?"

"Sure, but we need to get enough for Tali as well. The Kebdra-Perssons are going out."

An hour later, Tali was sent upstairs to get ready for bed. A few minutes later, Tony heard suspicious thumps and went to Tali's room to investigate. She wasn't there. He quickly traced the noises to a spare room. He stopped at the door and watched her. She was kneeling on the floor, holding a large foam ball. She threw it toward the basketball hoop Tony had temporarily attached to the back of the door. It went straight through the middle.

Tony applauded loudly then looked at the clock on the wall. "Ok, baby girl. Time for bed." He handed her a nightie.

"Why is Uncle Mack still here?"

Tony picked up the jeans Tali dropped. "You need to put these in the laundry basket or Ema's drawers. Uncle Mack's staying with us until Aunty Fliss comes back."

"Is he lonely?"

"You know something? You're very smart." Tony followed Tali to the laundry then his bedroom. "Snuggle down." She obeyed. "Who do you want to read you your bedtime story?"

"Uncle Mack, please."

Tony agreed and kissed her. "Goodnight, sweetheart."

"Goodnight, Aba." Tali hugged him tight and kissed him on the cheek.

A few minutes later, Mack walked in. "Aba said someone wants a bedtime story." Tali nodded eagerly. "That's good because I brought one from home. It's one of Aunty Fliss' favourites." He stretched out on the bed and showed Tali the book. "Ever heard of Paddington Bear?"

Tali shook her head as she snuggled close. "Where are you sleeping?"

"On the sofa." Mack opened the book.

"For your whole holiday? Won't that hurt your back?" Tali propped herself up on her elbow. "You can sleep in my bed if you want."

Mack lowered the book. He grinned at Tali's earnest face, then sombered. "For the whole of my holiday? Are you sure? That's a lot of nights you don't get to sleep in your new room."

"It's a lot of nights you won't hurt your back." Tali settled back and opened the book. "Is that Paddington Bear? He looks soft, like my teddy bear."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks to DS2010 for your reviews! Hopefully, you'll keep loving Tali.**

**A/N2: Unfortunately, there is a scene break for a POV change in this chapter. I try not to do them, but I felt it was unavoidable in this chapter.**

**-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS**

In the early afternoon of the next day, the painting and wallpapering was finally over. Mack was just preparing to do a load of laundry when his phone rang.

"Hello. Mack Narcisse speaking."

Instead of words, the phone line was filled with intermittent sobbing and short strangled breaths.

"Who is this? What do you want?" Mack gripped the phone. "I'll call the police!"

"No, don't do that." The words seemed to be pushed out like air out of a balloon.

"Mr Rowlands? Arthur? What's the matter? Is it Eartha?"

"No." Mack could hardly decipher the word around the crying. "It's not my wife. It's Meghan."

"Meghan? You mean Fliss?" Now Mack was the one who found it hard to speak. "Fliss? What happened? Where is she? What hospital is she in?"

"She . . . she"

"She what?" Mack's tone was both impatient and scared.

"She died."

"I beg your pardon?" Mack heard the words again, but he didn't understand them. "Fliss is dead?"

"Yes." This time the flat monotone voice was that of Fliss' brother. Sam, Mack thought his name was. To Mack's despair, he could hear every word clearly. "She died last night. In her sleep."

"How? Was she sick? Why didn't you let me know?"

"Because I didn't know! Nobody knew!" Sam protested loudly. "She didn't come down for breakfast. Chelsea found her this morning. She was pronounced dead when the police and the ambulance arrived."

Mack dropped his phone on the floor. As he fell to his knees, Tony heard the crash and came to investigate.

"What is it? What's happened?" Tony ran forward. He knelt down and took his friend in his arms. "Mack! Mack! Maximilien Narcisse!" The surname was enough to make Mack look up at Tony.

"Fliss," Mack whispered. "Fliss is dead."

Tony leant back, not believing that he'd heard what he thought he'd heard. "Say again?"

"Fliss. Fliss is dead."

"What happened?"

Mack lifted his phone slightly. "Her father rang."

Taking that as an invitation, Tony grabbed it. Hearing a dial tone, he hit redial as he went into his home office. To do what was best for his friends, he needed details. As many of them as he could get. When the phone call was over, he opened the door and beckoned Mack in.

"Stay here. I'll take Tali next door so we can talk."

Tony called the Persson-Kebdras and got permission for Tali to visit. After shutting the door to the office so she wouldn't see Mack, he went upstairs.

"Tali. Put down your book. I need you to go over to Gretchen's for a while. They're expecting you."

"But I was there yesterday! I want to be in my room. It's so pretty."

Tony pointed out the door.

"Since it's raining, can I take Aunt Fliss' Paddington book? I don't think Gretchen has it. She might want me to read it to her."

"No."

Frowning, Tali put her book down and ran down the stairs. "Uncle Mack!"

Tony put his hands on her shoulders and walked her to the apartment door. "He doesn't want to be disturbed at the moment." He watched her disappear into the apartment. He went back into the office, but was not surprised to find Mack gone. Grabbing his keys he ran down the stairs, making a phone call on the way. Even though it was five flights it was potentially quicker than the elevator. Potentially quicker enough to catch his friend. Breathing heavily, Tony flung open the door to the street.

"What are you doing here?"

"Taking you home. Don't worry. I canceled the taxi." Tony started guiding Mack to the car.

"I don't want to go home." Mack went still and Tony bumped into him. "Did you actually talk to the taxi driver? You didn't, did you? You just said what you had to say and hung up. You didn't ask how their day was going. You didn't wait to hear if they had any life changing news, or any news at all, to tell you. In fact you didn't even talk to her at all. I bet you left her a voice message telling her to ring you back, didn't you? Well, we both know that isn't going to happen, don't we? She's never going to return my calls." He jerked open the passenger door of the car and got in.

Tony got in beside him. "So where do you want to go?"

"For a bike ride in Parc des Buttes Chaumont."

Tony plugged the park's name into the GPS. He left Mack to his silent reverie as they wended their way through the Paris streets. Eventually their destination came into sight and Mack came to life. As Tony kept an eye out for a place to stop, Mack pointed off to the right.

"That's where she broke her ankle. Her bike hit a dead animal. She thought it was a squirrel and it turned out to be a cat. I razzed her about that for months. I told her if she wanted to learn to carve hedges into animals, she first had to know what those animals look looked like. 'If someone pays for a horse, they don't want a hippo', I told her. We'd go out and I'd forever be pointing to birds and butterflies and cats and dogs and squirrels and chipmunks and asking her what they were. She eventually learned a whole lot of scientific names. At least she told me were names. Anyway, she started spouting them each time I quizzed her. I believed for a long time that the scientific name for the domestic cat was "panthera tigris".

"Some of them act like it," Tony grumbled as he parked the car between two oversized and illegally parked gas guzzlers.

"There's the bike hire place." Tony hurried after Mack. He got there just in time to hear the proprietor ask where Fliss was. He placed his hand on Mack's shoulder and leaned forward. This put himself between Mack and the proprietor. "Hi, I'm Tony. Fliss is out of the country. I've not been in Paris long so Mack's brought me here to take a tour of this beautiful park."

Nodding, the hire paperwork was completed, the bikes chosen, and the pair rode off side by side.

Mack's silence allowed Tony to focus on the scenery. He was so focused in fact that he nearly fell off his bike when Mack veered into the bottom of a grass bank.

Mack lowered himself to the ground. "I need to go to Virginia."

Tony sat facing him. "What can I do to help?"

"Come with me." Tony's mouth opened in surprise. Seeing that, Mack apologized. "Sorry. What with Tali and your job there's no way you can spare the time."

"I took the summer holidays off, remember?" Catching Mack's stare, he shrugged. "Okay, so I took it off to spend time with Tali before she starts school. But there'll be plenty of time for the three of us to spend together when we get back."

Mack juggled his phone, his eyes fixated on it. "I need to ring Maman."

"Do you want me to ring her and tell her what's going on?" Tony was secretly hoping Mack would say 'yes'. Between them, he and Nadine Narcisse could formulate a plan to make this happen.

Mack nodded dully. "Don't tell her I've lost my job."

"You haven't told her? That was two days ago! What if she's contacted as part of the investigation? There's nobody better for a character reference than a parent."

Mack shook his head. "How would my boss even know how to contact her? She's not even my next of kin. Ophelia is."

It was on the tip of Tony's tongue to say "And Ophelia is your sister." At the last moment he changed tack. "I'll talk to Nadine first. Then you can." Tony grabbed Mack's phone, found Nadine's number, and dialed it.

"Mack? What are you doing ringing me now? I mean, it's always nice to hear from you, but aren't you at work?"

"Actually, Nadine, it's Tony. Tony DiNozzo."

Nadine sensed the hesitation and reacted to it. "Mack? Where's Mack? I want to talk to him."

"I'll put him on in a second, but there's something you need to know first. Fliss is dead."

This time it was Tony that sensed hesitation in Nadine's voice. "Fliss? I thought she was in America."

"She was, I mean, she is. Her father rang today. Mack was already staying with us for a while while we were decorating Tali's room. Anyway, Fliss died in her sleep of unknown causes."

"What does he need?" Nadine asked Tony. "Should I come to visit?"

"He needs to get to America."

"Does he need me to find someone to go with him?"

"He asked me to go."

"It makes sense," Nadine said. "You were the one who know her best, after Mack that is. So what do you need? Someone to look after Tali while you're away?"

"No, thanks. Well, maybe," Tony said. "I'll let you know. What Mack needs right now is you. I can pay for the gas. After we get back we can have a discussion about who pays who back for what. For now, you talk to him, settle him down, try to get him out of his depressive funk."

"No," Nadine said. "I am not going to try and make him feel better. Not this soon. Losing someone you love in that way, your emotions don't settle down immediately. Nor should they be forced to."

Tony moved away so Mack couldn't hear him. "I think"

"No, you don't," Nadine broke in. "Unless you're had someone you love as much as a husband or wife"

"I have," Tony argued back. "Tali's mother, Ziva. I had to pull my emotions back in straight away."

"Only because you have a child to take care of by yourself." Nadine pointed out that Mack didn't have that. "So he needs to take as long as he needs to pull his life back into line. If you're not going to let that happen then you and Tali can come here for a holiday and I will go with him to America."

Tony chuckled. "No, that's alright. Okay. I'll give him space." Mack's grandmother is a bitch if half the things that Mack has said about her are to be believed. There's no way I'm going to miss the funeral to look after an senile old woman who swears like a sailor and swings like a prize fighter.

"I can come down tonight," Nadine offered. "Tell Mack to meet me at his place."

"That actually might be a good idea," Tony said thoughtfully. Then he clarified. "Not because I want to get Mack out of the house or I don't agree with your parenting ways. It's just that I haven't told Tali yet that Fliss is dead." His voice broke as he finally said the words. Before Nadine could respond, he cleared his throat. "I have to do that, and find her somewhere to stay while I'm gone. I have to book us flights, and maybe hotels, at least for me. I mean, I haven't met the family and I didn't know her as long as Mack did or or they did."

"Tony. Stop." Nadine said it in her comforting yet sharp voice. Tony called it her 'Gibbs voice'. "There's plenty of time to figure that all out later. For now let me talk to my son. Then until I get there you two sit together and, I don't know, share your memories or something."

Tony made sure he and Mack were back at Mack's place only ten minutes before Nadine was due to arrive. When Tony opened the door for her, it was obvious she was forcing herself to appear relaxed.

"Hi, Nadine, thanks for coming." On the way up to the apartment Tony filled her in on the events of the day. "I won't stay. I have to go home and talk to Tali."

Nadine squeezed Tony's forearm gently. "Thanks for being here for Mack. I'll get back to you about his plans for the funeral."

"Thanks." As Nadine opened the door to Mack and Fliss' apartment, she heard Tony enter the elevator.

Tony sat in the car. Remembering Nadine's advice, he wrote a list of things that needed to be done. Shortly thereafter he was driving toward his own apartment, trying furiously to decide what he was going to tell Tali.

"Aba? Is everything okay?" Tali pulled open the door and flung herself toward Tony.

"How come you're not playing with Gretchen?" Tony countered the question with a question.

"I saw you out of the window."

Tony set her down and walked with her into the Persson-Kebdra's apartment. "Go back and play. I just need to talk to Miss Persson-Kebdra and Mr Persson-Kebdra for a few minutes."

"What's wrong? Where's Uncle Mack?" Tali made to push past Tony, but Tony held her still.

"Uncle Mack has gone home because his mother has come to visit."

Pacified, Tali ran back into the bedroom with Gretchen following close behind.

Ingrid sat at the dining room table and held out a cup of coffee. Tony accepted the invitation. Talking in whispers, he made her aware of everything that had happened.

"Tali is welcome to stay here as long as you need," Ingrid offered.

"Shouldn't you ask Henrik about it first?"

"Nope." The answer came quick and fast. "He's my partner, not my master. I've told him that with my background in medicine he has to trust my judgment in emergency situations. I call this an emergency situation, don't you?"

Tony swirled the cup to mix the coffee. "I'll probably have to take you up on that. Now I just have to figure how I'm going to tell Tali."

"If you want to wait, I can come over after Henrik is home and we can tell her together."

Tony stood up. "Thanks for the offer of having Tali stay. I'll get back to you when I know more about what's going to happen." He called Tali and within a few minutes they were in their own apartment.

Tony carried Tali over to the settee and settled her on his lap. Turning her to face him, he broke the bad news.

"She's gone? Like Ema?"

"That's right." Tony kissed her on the head.

"Is Uncle Mack going to America to say goodbye?"

Tony nodded against her head.

"I think you should go with him."

Tony lifted her so they were facing each other. "Why do you say that?"

"He's going to be very sad. He's going to need someone to give him lots of hugs and you're the best hugger I know."

Tony curled the two of them into a pretzel and held her until she fell asleep. Maybe he shouldn't go to America. Maybe exposing his daughter to a crazy old lady would be the best of two evils. Maybe Nadine would be the best person to go with Mack. She was his best hugger now. He carded his fingers through Tali's hair. One decision at a time, he warned himself.

**-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS**

At the same time Tony was comforting his child, Nadine was comforting hers.

"Mack?" Not seeing her son in the living room or kitchen area, Nadine moved to the back area of the apartment. "Mack?" She pushed gently on the door of the bedroom. Sure enough her hunch was correct. Mack was perched on the edge of the king size bed, up near Fliss' pillow. Thankfully he was facing her. It made getting his attention easier.

She knelt down and placed her hand on his knee. "Hi, darling." She was not surprised to see that, when her son looked up at her, there was no recognition there. No vitality. No joy. She could understand that.

"I remember when I heard that your Daddy was dead. If it weren't for your Grandmere . . . well, we might not be a family right now. But we are. And me and Ophelia, we're going to help you. I'm going to get a meal ready. You need me, you yell. I'm not going anywhere."

"I was going to ask her to marry me."

Nadine, who had stood up and turned to go, turned back. "You were . . . Oh, Mack!" She ran back and gathered him into her arms. His wet hair smelled strongly of shampoo as it tickled her nose. He must have washed his hair recently, and, from the fruit and coconut scent she surmised it was Fliss' shampoo.

Thank goodness my mother is out of town, Nadine thought. She'd be crowing like a rooster, that that will never happen. Sylvia Garnier had made no secret of the fact that she hated Fliss ever since Mack had moved out so he could spend more time with his girlfriend without causing 'family ructions' as he called them. Things had gotten so bad between grandmother and grandson that Mack had moved as far away as he could without having to change schools after deciding to move in with Fliss. But even before that he was forced to celebrate twice on birthday and holidays because Sylvia refused to be in the same house as Fliss, let alone the same room. And Mack never stayed overnight anymore.

A few minutes later, Mack pulled away from her and sniffed loudly.

"Here." Nadine handed him a handful of tissues from a box on the bedside table. Mack blew and wiped his nose repeatedly until a faint red mark appeared beneath it. At that point Nadine forced his hand down. "Your nose is fine. What do you want for dinner?"

Mack shrugged. "We cleaned the cupboards out when I went to stay with Tony. All my food's at Tony's. There's some delivery menus on the fridge door. Don't waste your money ordering anything for me. I'm not hungry."

Nadine ordered enough food for two anyway, and when it arrived, she steeled herself for the difficult task of enticing Mack to eat. To her surprise, Mack came out before she even had the food on the table. After a silent meal, Mack handed Nadine a coffee. "What did Tony tell you?"

"Just that Fliss' Dad rang you to say that Fliss died in her sleep. Is there something else I should know?"

"I'm going to America."

"Of course you are." Nadine sipped her coffee. "When are you going?"

"As soon as I can get everything sorted on this end."

"What can I do to help?" Before Mack could answer, Nadine's phone rang. Recognising the number, Nadine excused herself and moved to the kitchen so she could talk in private.

"Ophelia?"

"You said you'd ring me! Your text said 'GOING TO SEE MACK. HE'S FINE, FLISS IS NOT. I'LL RING YOU WHEN I KNOW MORE.'. That was over three hours ago! What is going on?"

"Fliss is dead."

"How is he?"

Once again, Nadine was struck at how similar Ophelia was to her dead father. "He ate all his food then gave me a cup of coffee."

"Let me talk to him."

"He hasn't even talked to me yet."

"Give him the phone!"

Nadine sighed and went to give the phone to her son.

Once she was alone, Nadine took a moment to collect herself. She wondered if Ophelia was going to come, to be there for Mack. On the one hand she didn't want Mack to be alone so soon after receiving such devastating news. She knew from personal experience what that was like and the devastating and never ending circle of pain and loneliness and desolation that her son was going to be thrown into. So having a second person around would be a relief.

On the other hand, she also knew being alone had helped her deal with her grief and pain in ways that were most beneficial to her. She wasn't forced into talking to people she wasn't ready to talk to, or show emotions she wasn't ready to show. She credited that with aiding her recovery. Her thoughts were interrupted when Mack raised his voice.

"Ophelia . . . No you're not coming over. If you were, you wouldn't be on the phone. You'd be on the road. . . Well, don't. I don't need you here. I'm fine . . . I told you, I don't need you." Nadine reached over his shoulder and ripped the phone out of his hand, making Mack jump.

"He'll call you later when he's settled down."

"And when will that be?" Mack snapped.

Nadine followed him through the apartment. "I don't know. But if you're going to get to America you need to start making plans now."

Two days later, Nadine delivered Tony and Mack to the airport. To Nadine's dismay, Mack had, in all that time, refused to talk to Ophelia.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thanks to DS 2010 and Bohogal1998 for your reviews, they are greatly appreciated! My apologies for not posting last week. I had to do some major story revision to (hopefully) improve flow and readability.**

-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS

"So who exactly are we meeting?"

"Fliss' younger sister, Chelsea. I've only met her a few times because she was still in school when Fliss went to France. Oh, Fliss! She was my first love, you know? The first and the only one I'll ever love."

"Yes, I do know." Tony's voice tightened as he pushed the memories of Ziva David way, way, back into the darkest recesses of his mind that he could find.

He breathed a sigh of relief when they cleared Customs . To him, Mack's behavior should have raised a glaring red flag. Either the Customs agents weren't as alert as he was, or maybe Mack's behavior wasn't as suspicious as he thought it was. For the nation's sake, he hoped it was the latter. As they exited into the Arrivals lounge, he looked around. "See anyone you know?"

Mack shrugged.

Tony ordered Mack to sit down on a nearby bank of seats. "Stay here. I'll take a walk and see if I can find her." Just as he was about to move away, Mack's phone beeped.

Mack took it out of his pocket. "Chelsea is in the The Bamboo Brewery restaurant. Do you know where that is?"

"Nope."

"What's the use of having a local around if they can't tell you what you need to know?" Mack leaned back in the chair as he texted Chelsea back.

"I've only been to this area a few times. Even then, I've only ever driven, never flown."

Mack ignored him, read Chelsea's reply, and strode away. Tony picked up their bags and trotted after him. They ended up on the fourth floor. Thankfully, The Bamboo Brewery was a small restaurant and they soon found the person they were looking for.

"Thanks for picking us up, Chelsea." Mack introduced her to Tony. He sat down at a table and picked up the menu. "What's good here?"

"I don't know. I'm not hungry."

"Then why did you meet us here?" Mack complained with his head still hidden behind the menu. "We've spent half a day stuck on a plane with only one meal. You two can do what you want, I'm getting something to eat."

"You want to know why I met you here?" Chelsea asked as Mack motioned for a waiter. She stopped while Mack and Tony gave their orders. "This is where Meghan and I had lunch when she arrived here. She was so happy, Mack. You two were engaged. She was going to witness the birth of Erica's baby. And she was going to ride in a float in an Independence Day parade."

"I know. She told me."

Tony stepped in before the argument could escalate. "Chelsea, I need to buy us new phones. The ones we have won't work here. I'll be back as soon as I can."

That turned out to be twenty minutes. When he returned, Chelsea met him at the door.

"Mack hasn't said a word while you were away."

In fact, Mack didn't say another word until they got to the Rowland's family home in Trumpet Oaks. He introduced Tony to the rest of the family.

"This is Erica. Fliss' brothers, Sam, Dylan, and her twin brother, Jared. Her parents, Eartha and Arthur." He pointed to each person in the line.

"Big family," Tony noted.

"Just the ten of us." Dylan ticked them off on his fingers. "Mom, Dad, Erica, Samuel, Jared, Meghan, me, Chelsea, Erica's husband Benson, and their son, Zachary."

It didn't escape Tony's notice that Mack wasn't on the list.

Eartha stepped forward. "I'll show you both to your bedrooms. After you've woken up for your nap, I'll have refreshments made for you."

Uninvited, Mack sat in an armchair. "I don't need a nap. I'm not a child."

Tony stepped forward and smiled disarmingly. "Paris is 6 hours ahead of here. We've still got about three or four hours before we need to go to sleep. If we nap now, we won't be able to sleep later."

"When are they releasing her body for burial?"

Arthur swallowed and answered Mack. "They already have."

"I thought you said they didn't know how she died?"

"It's been ruled she died of cardiac failure due to natural causes."

"It's been ruled?" Mack jumped up and Tony pulled a suitcase out of the way before it toppled over. "What about the autopsy? Why isn't there an investigation?"

"Natural deaths don't warrant an investigation." To Tony it seemed like Arthur was deliberately explaining things as if Mack was a small child. "As for an autopsy? There wasn't one, and there won't be. You know how Meghan felt about a body being desecrated after death."

"Autopsies aren't desecration! They're science!" And there it was. The outburst Tony had been waiting for for days. "Answers! What if she died of something genetic? Fliss' autopsy could save your lives! She'd agree to an autopsy on those terms, you know she would."

"What I know is that we've got a viewing at the funeral home in half an hour. You are welcome to join us."

"No." Mack got up. "I need some air."

"I'll go after him." When Tony caught up with Mack, Mack was halfway up the road.

"I don't want to attend the viewing."

"You don't have to."

"They'll hate me. They won't let me attend the funeral." Tony rubbed Mack's back as Mack leaned on a light pole, heaving. "I'll never be able to come back and visit her." Mack straightened up. "Or you either. I have to go, don't I?"

"Not on my account, you don't. How about we go for a walk? If you change your mind, we can always meet the family later."

Mack brightened. "I can show you some of her favorite places, if you want."

"Sure." But I wish you'd choose one speed. Even if you show me every one of her haunts, favorite or not, we're going to be back here within the hour if you don't slow down. "Where are we going to first?"

Over the next hour and a half, they visited Fliss' elementary and high schools, got an ice cream where Fliss had her first job, saw the maternity hospital she was born in that was now abandoned, and walked down the main street of Trumpet Oaks.

"Flowers!"

"What gave it away? The smell or the pots lined up on the sidewalk?" Tony joked.

"I don't have any flowers for tomorrow!" Mack wailed.

A woman in a green jacket moved toward him. Tony stepped in between her and Mack, shielding his friend from unwanted contact.

"Do you want to go in and have a look around and pick something? Or do you want me to leave you here and ask the proprietor to send a bouquet?"

"Is that what I'm supposed to do? I've never been to an American funeral. Should I pick one out as well? Is that too much? Are they going to hate me?"

Tony laid his hands om Mack's shoulders. "This isn't about America. This isn't about the Rowlands' family. This is about you and Fliss. She was their daughter, sister, aunt, whatever else. But you were her fiance. That's the love you have to represent tomorrow. And you're the only one who can."

Mack took out his phone. He scrolled through his gallery of photos until he showed a screens to Tony. "This is what Fliss wanted for her wedding bouquet. I might not be able to give her exactly what she wants, but I'm going to get as close to it as I can."

Inside the small florist shop, Mack and Tony started searching.

"Can I help you?"

"I hope so." Mack held out the photo. "I'm looking for as many purple, blue, cream or white flowers as I can find."

The florist slowly put on his glasses and inspected the photo. He handed it back. "This is a wedding bouquet. They take weeks, if not months, for us to source, order, and construct. We can't do it in a day."

"I don't have months or even weeks. My fiance's funeral is tomorrow."

The florist peered over the top of his glasses as Mack. "Meghan Rowlands? You're the foreigner that took her away from us?"

Not liking where this was heading, Tony stepped in. "Thank you for your help. We'll have a look around by ourselves."

The florist shook his head. "And you want to rub everyone's nose in it by putting a wedding bouquet on her coffin."

Tony and Mack moved to a display of lilies.

"Are you okay?"

Mack nodded. "If there was another option, I'd take it. But I can't." He raised his voice slightly. "I have to focus on Fliss, not a bigoted shopkeeper I'll never see again."

Five minutes before closing, they walked out with two large funeral wreaths. Mack also carried out with him a smaller Styrofoam box.

There was barely a word spoken between the members of the Rowlands family and Tony and Mack overnight and into the next day, the day of the funeral.

There was barely a word spoken between Tony and Mack as they dressed in their suits.

"Mack. It's half past ten. Time to get out to the car."

Mack's shoulders chafed against the stiff seam of his starched white shirt. "Who are we going with?"

"Chelsea suggested we go with her."

"Didn't want any bloodshed on the day of her sister's funeral, ay?"

"Do you?" Tony checked his wallet was safely in his jacket pocket.

Mack shook his head once. True to his word, he kept to himself until they arrived at the church and went inside. The Order of Service crinkled as he grasped it. Tony had been his lifeline since he had found out Fliss was dead. But the Order of Service was his life line now, the only thing that would get him to survive over the next few hours.

Tony squeezed his shoulder. "I'm not family, so I can't go any further. Are you going to be okay, or do you want me to get someone to escort you up the front?"

Mack counted the pew corner posts between where he was and where he had to go. There were seven. No there were six. No, there wasn't. There was nine. He inhaled, deliberate and deep.

Tony watched his friend. Damn the family for not allowing him to sit with Mack.

"I can do it. Come and find me after the service, though." Mack began feeling his way down to the second pew, where he'd been told he was to sit. Once there, he slid as far into the corner as he could. For the next hour, he stood when the rest of the congregation stood, sat when they sat, sang when they sung, bowed his head when they prayed. The rest of the time he focused on the floor to ceiling arched stained glass window behind where the preacher was standing. Of all the 'must see sights' in her hometown this was the one Fliss had talked about the most - its pastoral theme and jewel-like tones, but most of all, the intricate detail. Mack counted the blades of grass, marveled at the cloud conformations, cried when looking deep into the eyes of the blue-eyed child who reminded him of her.

A hand on his arm jolted him back to reality, and he followed the family out of the church. He hovered at the back of the group where Tony found him in just a few minutes.

They went together to the graveside service. After it was finally over, Tony opened the white box and passed the flowers to Mack.

"She'd like this wedding bouquet."

Tony didn't reply to Mack's statement. He knew there was nothing to say. Nothing to do. Just stand there and cry with him as he laid the bouquet on the coffin so Fliss could hold onto it forever.

Late that afternoon, all the guests were gone from the Rowlands' home.

"We need to talk." Arthur invited Mack to join him in the living room.

"What about?" Mack sat down by Arthur.

Arthur looked at Tony who was standing behind Mack.

"Not a chance." Tony stood firm.

"We need Meghan's possessions back," Arthur declared.

"Of course. When I get home, I'll sort through them and send back the things I know she wants you to have."

"Not good enough," Arthur stated. "You're not family. We can take you to court and force you to hand everything over at your own expense."

"I'm not handing over everything!" Mack thumped the arm of the chair. The noise , accompanying the yells of the men, quickly attracted the rest of the family.

"What's going here?" Dylan demanded.

"He's refusing to give Meghan's things back!"

"But he has to!" Eartha started crying. "We need her things back!"

Sensing things were about to get ugly, Tony stepped in between Mack and the Rowlands family.

"Everybody step back and take a breath."

"Who gave you the right to boss us around?"

Tony held his hands out, palms up toward Sam. "I just don't want to see anyone get hurt, thats all." He faced Eartha. "What is it that you want to get out of this?"

"I want all of her stuff. She spent much more time here with us than she ever spent anywhere else. Her stuff needs to be here with us, with her." Eartha resumed her crying.

Before she was completely inconsolable again, Tony addressed her again. "What if she has a poster with devil's horns on it? Or a certain double entendre fishing shirt? Would you want those?"

A couple of the children sniggered, and Arthur shook his head vehemently. Lastly, Eartha shook her head as well.

"What about ALL the photographs Fliss took of her and Mack together? Or separately? Would you want them all, regardless of what they show?"

This time the whole family shook their heads instantly and simultaneously.

"Right then. We've established that you don't want Mack to pack up everything without looking at it and ship it back here." He pointed to one of the siblings at random. "Find a piece of paper and a pen for each member of your family." When they returned, Tony continued. "What I suggest is that every one of you write a list of everything of hers that you want to have."

After all the lists were finished, Tony directed them to compare lists. Where an item appeared on more than one list, the people concerned had a discussion. If they couldn't come to a consensus, the item in question stayed where it was until an agreement could be reached.

When the lists were finished, Mack took them. Surprisingly, there was nothing in them that he wanted. So he agreed to box up and ship everything over within thirty days of arriving back in France, at his own expense. He also agreed to place a video call to show the Rowlands family Fliss' photos so they could choose any they wanted.

Tony breathed a sigh of relief, but removed himself and Mack to the bedroom just to be safe.

"Thanks for intervening. That could have gone so bad." Mack echoed his unspoken thoughts.

But their relief was short lived. Within a few minutes, Mack was called back into the lounge where the whole family had collected.

"There's something we all forgot about. Something we're all agreed about needs to come home." Eartha Rowlands demeanor dared Mack to disobey her. It didn't help that he and Tony had to stay standing because all the seats were taken.

"What's that?" Mack asked warily.

"A set of twelve Christmas ornaments. Angel, star, bauble, reindeer, Santa, sleigh, manger with Baby Jesus, Joseph, Mary, Wise Man, gift, and stable. Meghan made them all while she was recovering from glandular fever when she was twelve. Twelve multiplied by twelve is one hundred and forty four, which is a very important number in biblical numerology, you know."

"I helped her glue the stable together." Jared held his hand up.

Sam swiped a tissue under an eye. "I remember coming home from school one day and she was sitting at the kitchen table painting Santa's sleigh. It was the first time she'd gotten out of bed for weeks!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." The family looked at Mack with various expressions of disbelief. Mack stared straight at Eartha. "I mean, I know she had glandular fever. But I don't know anything about the Christmas ornaments. We only ever had bought ornaments. We were too busy to make them."

"You're lying!" Jared jabbed a finger in Mack's direction. "You didn't need to make any. She had all the ornaments you'd need to fill the tree. She loved those ornaments. She brought them out and put them on the tree every Christmas. She wouldn't let us stop decorating the tree until all her ornaments were on it. She always had to place the last ornament, the angel on the top of the tree."

"And none of us have seen them since they moved to France." Sam jumped up and advanced on Mack. "If you don't send them back to us, you're a dead man."

Tony quickly got between them. "No threats."

"I don't even know why you're here," Sam complained. "You didn't even know Meghan."

Tony dropped one hand to his side, his open palm facing Mack. Mack took a step toward the door. "Are you sure Fliss, um, Meghan, didn't leave the ornaments somewhere in this house?"

"Are you calling us all liars?" Sam stepped toward Tony. Jared and Dylan joined him.

"No." Tony didn't move. "I'm saying that before you start threatening people, you should be sure of your facts."

"So you are calling me a liar." Sam tried to side-step Tony to get to Mack.

"If the shoe fits. I'm out of here." Mack jumped and ran out of the room. When Tony caught up to him, he was closing his already packed suitcase. "You don't have to come with me. I'll get a motel room for the next few days."

Tony quickly packed his suitcase. "You're my friend and don't even know them."

Mack slumped back in his seat after they had checked out all three of the motels in the town nd found them all fully booked.

"I bet they got on the phone as soon as we left and blacklisted us," he complained. "What are we going to do now?"

Tony grinned. "Ever wanted to see where the President of the United States lives?" He pulled out his phone. "Sister Rosita. It's Tony DiNozzo. I need a favor. And you can't tell anyone."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N**: DC2010 - Thanks for your agreement of the family argument scene. I was afraid it was too over-the-top. I'm glad it wasn't!

-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS

Tony and Mack had had to stay in hiding for three hours before Sister Rosita's nun had arrived. Once they were clear of the town, they stopped for dinner. Then they had to drive for another hour and a half before they reached the outskirts of Washington, D.C. The search for a vacant twin single motel room took up another thirty minutes.

Consequently, the stress, grief, jet lag, and exhaustion meant that Tony slept through the night and until nearly lunchtime the next day.

Once he had showered and dressed, he knocked on Mack's bedroom door. Not getting an answer, he opened the door. "Are you awake?"

With a grunt, Mack rolled onto his back. "What's the time?"

"Almost lunch."

Mack's eyes darted around the room. "Where am I? Where are we? Oh." He sunk back into his pillow and threw his arm over his eyes. "Have you heard from them?"

"No. Have you?"

Mack felt around on the bedside table and found his phone. He looked at it. "No. So what do we do now?"

"We could try to bring our return flights forward. Or we could delay the inevitable and play tourist for a couple of days."

"I can't afford it now I'm paying all the bills. And possibly unemployed and facing jail time, remember?"

"One problem at a time." Tony pulled out a coin. "Heads, we go home. Tails, we play tourist. Your call."

"Heads."

Tony opened his hand. "Heads it is. You get yourself ready to go out for lunch and I'll make some calls."

Twenty minutes later, Mack joined him in the living room. "Any luck?"

"I've rung around. Two travel agents don't have any seats available until Tuesday. I've left messages with three others. Ready to brave the Washington traffic?"

Mack looked out the window. "Are you sure the car that nun left you is safe?"

Tony laughed. "What with jaywalkers and shoddy traffic lights, it's safer than walking. After lunch, we go to the White House."

"I told you I can't afford it." Mack made to go back into the motel unit, but Tony stopped him.

"I'm the one who offered to show you the White House. At the very least I'm going to honor that promise."

Mack folded his arms. "Oh yeah? And how are you going to do that, pray tell?"

Tony was encouraged to see Mack fighting down the faintest of smirks so he bent down and lifted Mack around the thighs.

"Whoa! Hey, dizzy! What are you doing?" Mack wrapped his arms around Tony's head.

Tony staggered, his voice muffled against Mack's shirt. "Keeping my promise."

"If I promise to go quietly, will you put me down? Please?"

"Since you asked so nicely."

They arrived back at the hotel in the early evening.

"Thanks for a great day, Tony."

"Anything for you, Mack. Anything."

Mack fingered a bottle of beer. "Are you serious about that?"

Tony glanced up from his phone. "Absolutely. Why?"

"I have something I want to talk to you about." Mack grimaced. "Actually, its a favor I need. But you need to hear the story first."

Tony was concerned for his friend's sudden flightiness. "Well, how about we talk about it?"

It took four mouthfuls of beer to give Mack the courage to speak. "You know I don't have a father or a grandfather, right?" Tony nodded. "I've asked Maman about them many times. But it only seemed to upset both her and Ophelia. So I stopped asking after a while. Then I changed tack and started asking my grandmother. She just got angry. Then when I was packing my things up to move in with Fliss I found this." He pulled a much creased and slightly torn photo from the breast pocket of his polo shirt. "It's an American uniform, right?"

Tony took the photo. "It's a USA Marine uniform, for sure. It's from quite a while back though. Photography has changed a lot since this was taken."

"But that's good, isn't it?" Mack said excitedly. "That means you can narrow the photo down to a time frame, then the Marine by rank, and then by medals."

Tony leaned forward. "Mack? What makes you think this is your father or grandfather?"

"I don't." Mack squashed his empty beer can. "For all I know, it might be someone who lived in our house before us and then went to war and died. If that is the case, I'd want the photo back. Wouldn't you?"

Tony fingered the photo and took another swig of his soda. "So let me get this straight. You want me to go to NCIS, where I no longer work, and convince colleagues I no longer work with, to use spare time they don't have to track down the person in this photo and get it back to them, just because you don't have a father."

Mack looked around for a rubbish bin. "When you put it like that…"

Tony laughed. "I'll see what I can do. But these things take time. We might not have an answer before we have to go home."

"I know," Mack nodded. "But it would be really nice if I was able to get the photo back to its owner or their family. And if it does help me track down my father or grandfather, well, at least I'll know how they died. And if I can visit their graves and take photos, maybe I can help Maman and Ophelia heal from whatever it was they did to them."

"They? You think that your grandfather and father teamed up against your mother and sister and drove them away?"

Mack shrugged. "In my experience, bullies band together against their prey."

"You have to come with me."

"What?"

"Abby and Tim prefer to get their evidence, and the story behind it, from the horse's mouth, not the horse's friend."

"So you admit you're an ass?"

Tony blew a raspberry at Mack, then pulled out his phone and punched in a number. He grimaced. "Dammit, Abby. Rule Three. 'Never be unreachable!' It's Tony. Ring me back asap." He hung up and dialed another number. "Hey, McGee, Tony here…Yes, that Tony. I'm in town for a few days. I know it's late, but can I come over? I'd love to meet the babies and catch up with you. Perfect. I'll see you as soon as we can get there."

About twenty minutes later they pulled into McGee's drive.

"Tony!"

"Abby!" Tony squealed back. He lifted her and twirled her around. "Under the circumstances, I think I can forgive you for not answering your phone. What's with the headscarf? What happened to the pigtails?"

Abby blushed. "Pigtails and baby slobber don't mix." Before Tony's grin became audible amusement, she hit him on the arm. "Don't laugh. By the time the bubs have finished, my hair feels like wet kelp!" She looked past Tony to where Mack was paying the taxi driver. "Who's your friend?"

Tony waved Mack over and made the introductions.

"Mack needs your help," Tony informed Abby.

"Are you admitting you forgot everything you knew when you flew over the Atlantic?"

Mack grinned at Abby. "Depends. Did he ever know which of a microscope he was supposed to look through?"

"I like you." Abby linked arms with Mack and, laughing, the duo went inside. Smiling, Tony followed them. He'd never known anyone that wasn't cheered up by Abby's presence. Tim and his wife, Delilah Fielding McGee, greeted them like long lost friends.

"Coffee or beer?" Tim asked.

"Just water, thanks," Mack requested.

"Coffee, extra strong please," Tony requested.

"Are you missing Gibbs so much you've adopted his coffee habits to remind yourself of him?"

"I doubt the Boss ever drank absinthe or ate escargot. And if he did, it wouldn't have been in the same meal."

"But don't you French people take so long to eat that two things eaten five hours apart are counted as being from the same meal?" Abby teased.

Mack nodded. "Yes, that has been known to happen."

"So what brings you to town?"

"And where's Tali?" Abby's question followed Tim's.

"Tali's still in France. We were attending a funeral in Virginia. Then Mack dropped a bombshell on me. I'll let him explain."

Mack bumbled through an explanation.

"Where did you find it?" Abby interrogated him.

"I found it in a tree house on the property where I grew up."

"Do you know when it was put there?"

Mack shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry, Tim. It could have been put there at any point between when the house was built and when I found the photo about four years ago. I just thought I'd ask the question."

"Ask what question?"

"Timothy McGee, behave yourself!" Delilah scolded. "We'll do whatever we can to help," she assured Mack.

Tony said, "I don't expect you to be able to find a name or any viable DNA. But anything that might help us track the guy down would be awesome. How is McGee taking to fatherhood?" He was anxious to change the subject. He didn't want Mack to regress into depression when he realized how hard it was actually going to be to track down the Marine's family. It was safer, if not easier, to change the subject.

Abby looked at him, her expression a mixture of amazement and disappointment. "Are you telling me you haven't talked to him since the babies were born?" she scolded. "Tony! How could you? They're more than a month old."

"Which means Tim and Delilah are still developing a routine," Tony defended himself. "I didn't want to disturb them. I sent them a congratulatory card as soon as I heard and I answer all their emails."

"Which is all we expect of you. You sound like you've been awfully busy settling yourselves in your new apartment," Delilah said sweetly, returning and depositing a neatly wrapped bundle into Tony's arms. After receiving permission, she gave the other one to Mack. "Meet our babies, John and Morgan Fielding McGee." Satisfied that her babies were comfortable and safe, Delilah asked Abby to help her in the kitchen with the next round of drinks.

After delivering the drinks, Abby sat cross-legged on the floor by Tony. "Neither Gibbs nor the Director are in the office at the moment." She looked at Tim, who looked at Delilah.

Delilah smirked. "You want to go in now while no one is there so you won't get caught running unauthorized tests."

"That sounds like a great idea. " Tim grabbed his keys and wallet. "Come on, Abby. We'll take my car."

"Hold it! Hold it!" Tony lifted Morgan to his shoulder as she began to stir when she heard the strange voice. He modulated his tone so he was almost talking in a lullaby voice. "The tests you need to run will take all night."

Delilah flinched, then sat up straight. "And, let me guess, you can't leave the poor, defenseless, helpless cripple to look after her own poor, defenseless, helpless babies for even a few hours?"

Tony chuckled. "Tell me when I find her and I'll know."

Delilah deflated. "I'm sorry, Tony. I'm forever getting offers of 'help' from people who in reality just don't think I can be left alone with my own children."

"They obviously don't know you very well. Mack needs the photo back before we leave for home." Tony nudged Abby with his foot. "He needs it whole and undamaged. No corners clipped, acid tests, anything that will cause him to want to hurt me, even slightly. Understood?"

Abby jumped up and saluted. "Aye, aye, Captain."

"Off you two go, then," Delilah ordered. "In the meantime, Tony, Mack, and I are on 'feed, burp, bath, and bed' duty."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Thanks to DS2010 for the review. I enjoy reading them, they make me extremely happy. Welcome to my new readers and followers.

-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS

Between pointing out landmarks of interest while taking the scenic route back to the hotel, Mack and Tony sang along with John Denver. Every so often they would hit a note particularly badly and stop singing because the laughter took over. It was during one of these rest periods that Tony's phone rang. He looked it. "It's a French number. I better take it." He parked the car and spoke in French. "Hello. Tony DiNozzo speaking."

"Hello. I am looking to speak directly with Anthony DiNozzo, Junior."

By now, Tony was scared. He didn't recognize the voice and since he wasn't completely fluent in French yet, the authoritative and formal voice and pattern of speaking was odd and unsettling. "This is he."

"Are you the father of Tali David DiNozzo?"

"Who wants to know?"

"I am sorry," the caller apologized. "My name is Captain Evrard Normandeau of the Parisian Police Nationale."

" Police?" Tony echoed. "What has happened to my daughter? Where is she? What hospital is she in? Please tell me she is safe!" By now Tony's voice had risen so high he was practically an opera soprano.

"Mr DiNozzo?" The soothing tone did nothing to pacify Tony. "Do you have someone with you?"

"Yes," Tony whispered.

"Are you sitting down?"

"I am! Just tell me what has happened to my daughter!" Tony begged.

"I am afraid that she has gone missing," Evrard answered.

"Missing?" Tony gripped the phone harder. "How long has she been missing? And from where?"

"She went missing a few hours ago while on a trip to the Oasis Wildlife Zoo with" - there was a pause - "Ingrid Persson-Kebdra. I'm sure your daughter will be found soon."

"Why wasn't I informed then?" Tony demanded. "You should have rung ME as soon as the disappearance was reported!"

"Immediately we got the news we started an investigation. We have hundreds of people out looking for her." The voice became sharp. "Mr DiNozzo, most missing children turn up within only a few hours."

"It's already been a few hours! What are you doing to find her?"

"We have a large volunteer contingent looking for her and a substantial police presence at the scene following up leads."

"Leads?"

"It is possible that she has been kidnapped. Where are you right now?"

"America."

"How soon can you get home?"

Tony's muscles loosened.

Mack only just caught the phone as it left his hand. He watched helplessly as Tony ran from the car and sank to his knees. "Hello? My name is Maximilien Narcisse. How can I help you?"

"Get Mr DiNozzo home."

"We will be back in Paris as soon as possible."

"How did you know to come to Paris?" Evrard inquired suspiciously.

"Because that's where Tony and Tali live and where Tony left her. Do you have a phone number so we can contact you when we know our travel plans?"

Having got the number, Mack hurriedly ended the call and got out of the car. "Tony?" Mack walked towards the sound of Tony's cries, which were getting increasingly louder. Mack bent down.

"Tony."

"We need to get back to the motel. I have to check my other phone for messages from the kidnappers."

"Can you drive?" Mack didn't receive an answer. So he prompted, "Tony?"

"Don't you tell me to calm down!"

Mack nudged Tony's chin up until they were staring at each other. "I won't. We're going to sort this, Tony. You will see Tali again."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't you dare apologize! You have every reason to be worried. But you need to focus. Do you think one of your friends might get us back to the motel and have some clout in getting us a seat on a flight back home?"

Tony's glazed stare cleared. In seconds he was on the phone. "Gibbs. Tali's been kidnapped." He was reassured to hear a sharp intake of breath. If Gibbs was scared, then he could be, too. "I need you to get us on a plane to Paris. We've tried, but we can't find anything anywhere. Please, Gibbs. I need to get home."

"Of course." This time the soothing tone did pacify Tony. "Can you get to me or do you want me to come to you?"

Tony took honest stock of his mental and physical state. "Uh, um, you'll have to come to me. Mack can't drive here, and I'm too shaken."

"Where are you?"

In consultation with Mack and Mack's phone, Tony pinpointed where they were.

"Stay there. Fornell and I will be there as soon as we can."

Mack took Tony's phone and turned it off. "Let's sit in the car. At least we'll be out of the wind."

Once settled into the car, Tony fell into a restless doze. He jerked up and grabbed his phone when something rattled his door handle. "Where are we? Did I miss any calls? Has there been any more news?"

"Settle down, DiNozzo." Swiping at his eyes, Tony looked up to see Gibbs holding the door open. "Coffee or bourbon?"

"The police haven't called back, Boss," Tony whimpered as he stared at his daughter's photo.

Gibbs pulled Tony out of the car. "We'll figure this out, DiNozzo. Now, what did the caller say?"

Mack came around the car and stood by Tony. "Hello. I'm Mack, Tony's travel companion." He and Tony recited everything they could remember about the phone call as Fornell took detailed notes.

At the finish, Gibbs directed Mack and Tony into Fornell's car. "I'll meet you back at the house."

"Where are you going?" Tony slid into the passenger seat.

Before Gibbs had time to answer, Fornell drove off. "We're going to the hotel."

Back at the hotel, Fornell and Tony vanished into Tony's room.

In his room, it took Mack five minutes to get his belongings together. He sat down on the bed and put his feet up. He sighed. It was the first time since he'd got off the plane from Paris that he'd had a chance to just sit back, relax, and do nothing. Maybe, considering the circumstances, Maman would give him a pass if he waited until morning to ring her to check in. It wasn't that he didn't care about his family. But, on a scale with Fliss' death and Tali's kidnapping? A discussion about how the flowers were growing and whether Ophelia had heard from her useless ex seemed unimportant. Forcing his eyes open, he picked up his phone and dialed. He might think so. Grandmere would not.

"Maman? It's Mack . . . Yes, Maman, I'm okay . . . No, I don't need you to come . . .That's fine, Mama. You just look after yourself, okay? What did Grandmere say? . . . You didn't tell her? Why not? . . . True . . . Thanks . . . When will she be back? . . . When I get home I'll stay with Tony for a while . . . Yes, just call me if I need to come home. Give my love to Ophelia." His eyes and his phone shut at the same time. He sat staring at the back of his eyeballs. "I need a drink." He jumped off the bed when someone banged on the door. "Coming!"

Ten minutes later, they were checked out, the car packed and Fornell turned the car right out of the parking lot.

"You're going the wrong way." From behind Fornell, Tony pointed left.

"We need to eat and Gibbs' larder is bare. Empty. Devoid of all edible items. Except oatmeal. And I hate oatmeal. We'll go shopping then do drive-thru."

"Whatever." Tony looked at his phone. On the screen, a laughing Tali was blowing him a kiss. He laid his finger on her lips. "Hold on, baby girl. Aba and Uncle Mack are coming to get you. Hold on. Please. Just hold on."

"What do you want to eat?"

"Nothing."

Mack nudged Tony and shook his head. "Not an option. Fornell, get us burgers and fries. I'll make sure he eats it."

When the food was delivered, Mack held a burger to Tony's mouth. "We're going nowhere until you've eaten at least half the burger and chips, and drunk your coffee."

"Coffee? Yes. I can do that." Tony sipped from the cup, then took the lid off and drank it in one go. It seemed to revitalize him somewhat and he ate the burger and chips without further protest.

Mack finally gave Fornell the go-ahead to leave the parking lot.

"Can't you go any faster?" Tony leaned forward.

Fornell sighed internally. "Not without risking getting pulled over and wasting even more time."

Tony looked at his phone for the tenth time and checked the volume button was at maximum volume for the sixth time. "Why aren't they ringing me? They should have some news by now." He scrolled down his phone screen and jabbed at a number.

Out of the corner of his eye, Mack saw Tony lift the phone to his ear. "Who are you calling?"

"I'm calling Ingrid."

"Who's Ingrid?"

"The person I left my daughter with. The person I entrusted my daughters safety to."

Mack pulled the phone away from Tony's ear and disconnected the call. "That discussion is better left to when you see them face to face, don't you think?"

"No." Tony tried to grab his phone back.

Fornell pulled over on the side of the road. "I'm not going any further until you settle down. I am not going to endanger our lives. That won't do us or Tali any good at all."

Tony slumped back and laid his head on the head rest. "Sorry. I'll behave."

"Glad to hear it." After Mack gave Tony back his phone, Fornell turned the car engine back on and steered the vehicle back into the flow of traffic.

It took them a further hour to finish their shopping and get to Gibbs' house.

Gibbs opened the door for them and took some of the bags of groceries off Tony. Over his shoulder he called back to Mack. "Leave the bags at the bottom of the staircase. We're leaving soon."

"Yes sir."

"Don't call me sir. I work for a living," Gibbs said automatically.

Mack dropped the bags and wandered into the kitchen. His nose told him the coffee pot was full and boiling hot. It wasn't alcoholic, but it would have to do in the meantime. Fornell gestured for him to help himself. He poured a drink and sat beside Tony.

Gibbs opened a box and pulled out a sheaf of papers, which he passed to Tony. "I have bad news and good news. The bad news is that the kidnapping is legitimate. McGee was able to confirm it through our French contacts. The good news is I talked to Vance, and he's agreed to help."

"What is this?" Tony pulled the papers to him as he lifted a mug and sniffed the contents. "Mmmm. Glad you haven't forgotten my special order, Boss." Tony lifted his cup in a toast before turning his attention back to the papers. "NCIS Human Resources re-instigation and payroll papers?"

Gibbs tipped the box toward Tony. "Badge, ID, gun. Sign the papers, and this case turns into official NCIS business. Of course, you're assigned to a different team so nobody can say there's a conflict of interest."

"How? Why?" Tony stuttered.

"Rule Five."

"You don't waste good."

Gibbs nodded.

"That still doesn't explain why the director agreed."

"An American NCIS agent whose kidnapped child has familial links to the Israeli Mossad? Add to that all the undercover assignments. You being in France after the La Grenouille investigation, for example."

"You think Tali was kidnapped because of me, because of my relationship with either Jeanne or Ziva?"

"Nope, it was far too long ago. But pile it all up and it wasn't hard to sow the seed of a potential international incident, especially to Vance." Gibbs laughed. "He sees conspiracy theories around every corner. But his help is contingent on you signing the papers. I hope you do. I don't want some other idiot screwing up the investigation."

"You're coming with us?" Tony asked hopefully. "Is that what you meant by a conflict of interest?"

"Glad to know you haven't lost any of your deductive skills, DiNozzo." Gibbs raised his cup in a similar toast.

"That doesn't help us in getting to France," Mack pointed out.

"We leave from Marshal Air Field in an hour."

Tony looked at the remnants of his former life. His life with Gibbs. His life with Ziva. "Where do I sign?"

Fornell delivered them to the small military air field with twenty minutes to spare. As they unpacked the car a woman dressed in a pilot's uniform approached them.

"Captain Iris Sanchez. Who are you meeting today?"

"You, I think." Gibbs held out his hand and introduced everyone. "You're our pilot?"

"I am," Captain Sanchez confirmed. She led them to their plane. The mechanic refueling it greeter them. "Pack your bags and get settled. We leave in ten minutes."

"What sort of plane is this?" Mack asked Gibbs. "Where are all the seats?"

"It's a military cargo plane." Tony threw their luggage in the back, then jumped up to secure it. Gibbs jumped up to help him.

"Mack, stop standing around or you'll get left behind," Tony warned, held out a hand to haul him up.

"Where's the seats?" Mack asked again.

Tony moved over to the other side of the fuselage and sat down on the hard bench. "Right here." He patted the space beside him. "And we lift off in less than ten minutes, so you better get yourself strapped in."

Mack sat by Tony. "Where's the seatbelt?"

"This is why I hate flying with civilians," Gibbs muttered.

"I don't suppose I have your permission to deck him one?" Mack whispered in Tony's ear.

"Not until we get Tali back." Tony avoided the infamous Gibbs glare. "Don't worry, he's a functional mute. He won't talk much more. Regression to the mean, and all that."

Gibbs snorted. "Since I'm the lead agent on this case I got McGee to forward all your calls to my phone."

Mack opened his mouth.

Tony rolled his eyes. "He was not that tech savvy when I left NCIS. It seems he hasn't learned much in my absence."

"Hey! I can do that video calling thing," Gibbs protested.

"And yet you still can't forward calls. I wondered why my phone has been so quiet for so long. Anything I should know?"

Gibbs shook his head.

Mack yawned and wriggled around on the bench. "If I remember rightly, we're going to be here for about eight hours so I suggest we try and get some sleep."

"Mack, Mack," Tony sighed in disappointment. "Where's your sense of adventure?" He pulled a pack of playing cards out of his pocket. "Texas Hold'em at 20,000 feet anyone?"

"Actually, Tony, I want to hit the ground running. I need any information you can give me that'll give me the jump on the case." Gibbs pulled out a clipboard with a pad and pen. He scribbled on the top of the pad to make sure the pen was working.

Mack smirked. "You're right, Tony. He's as low-tech as they come."

Tony frowned. "I've already told you everything I know, Gibbs."

"Tell me about the people Tali was staying with."

"The Persson-Kebdras? We moved in beside them a few months ago. They have two children, both girls. Tali quickly became friends with the older one, Gretchen, who is the same age as her. In fact, they're looking forward to starting school again together next session."

"What jobs do the adults have?"

"Henrik is an auto mechanic and Ingrid is a chartered accountant." Tony looked over, distracted by Mack shifting in his seat.

"Sorry." Mack sagged against the side of the plane. "This isn't the most comfortable of transportation."

"How much time does Tali spend at the Persson-Kebdra's apartment?"

Tony pursed his lips as he calculated. "She's up to about three afternoons a week now."

"What do the girls do while they're together?"

"At my house? Usually playing in the living room. Sometimes we'd do some baking."

"When Tali chose what to bake, what was her favorite?"

Tony raised his eyebrows. "Why?"

"It could have been what Tali was offered to lure her away."

"Are you saying this is Tali's fault?" Mack made to undo his seatbelt.

"Of course not," Gibbs snapped, pushing Mack back into his seat. "The victim is never at fault for being kidnapped. I'm trying to profile the kidnapper and work out what to look for at the crime scene. If you tell me she likes to bake chocolate brownies, I'll know to look for them. If I find them, I'll be thinking about someone who knew she liked brownies."

Tony's cheek lifted in a barely perceptible smile. "Actually it was spiced apple muffins."

Gibbs made a note. "What did she like to play with?"

Tony's shrug was restricted by his harness. "Usually it was whatever was at the house they were at. In our house, balls and books. At the Persson-Kebdras it would more likely be dolls and dress ups. But don't get me wrong. If there was something Tali really wanted to play with she would make sure it was with her and try her hardest to get Gretchen to agree. And usually she would."

"Have you ever left Tali with them overnight before while you've been out of town?"

Mack laughed. "Are you kidding? I've known Tony as long as he's been in Paris, and I can't ever remember him ever leaving the city."

Looking at Tony. Gibbs saw the truth in his face.

"How well does Tali understand stranger danger?"

"In Israel, she and Ziva were chased, shot at, and had to hole up in a house while it was being cased by people with guns. She knows how to handle herself in a dangerous situation, but she also knows how to avoid them. She would never have gone anywhere with someone she didn't know. When I said she 'quickly' became friends with Gretchen, I mean it took three weeks before she would play in another room without me, five before she went next door without me, and this is her first overnight stay."

Gibbs changed the subject. "What sports is she interested in?"

While telling Gibbs about his daughter's interests and bragging about her exploits, Tony fell asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Thanks for all the feedback over the last couple of weeks, it's been awesome! Also, I have now marked this as an AU because of timeline impossibilitles

-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS

After eight hours of seamless flight, Gibbs, Tony, and Mack disembarked into a sunny French Monday morning. Tony and Mack wrestled the luggage onto a trolley while Gibbs got the final flight report from Iris.

Tony muscled the trolley across the tarmac toward the terminal.

"Tony!" Mack lunged forward and steadied his suitcase before it fell to the ground.

"Boss? Why are there two people waiting for us?" Tony suspiciously eyed the two uniformed chauffeurs. One was holding a placard saying "Gibbs" and the other, a placard saying "Tony and Mack". "Please tell me they are waiting for another Tony and Mack."

"Nope." Gibbs greeted the drivers and identified himself, Tony, and Mack. "I'm going to the police station, and you two are going home."

"We don't live together."

"I'm going to the police station with you."

Gibbs ignored Mack's statement and addressed Tony's. "No, you're not. I'm going to the police station alone. I'll enter my interview into evidence, find out what they know about the kidnapping, and then come home and report to you. And I don't care whose home you go to. I'll find you when I need you."

"Who is this guy? Sherlock Holmes?" Mack muttered.

"No, he just thinks he is." Tony ripped the sign out of their driver's hands and tore it in half. He gave the half saying 'Mack' back. The half that had his name on it, he threw on the ground. He then put his luggage in front of Mack and glared at Gibbs. "You said you wanted to hit the ground running. So: I come with you, we get briefed together, and I only go home after I know what the next step is."

Gibbs glared back and stepped into Tony's personal space. "Agent DiNozzo, are you so out of practice that you don't remember how being an NCIS agent works? Well, let me remind you. I am your superior. You answer to me. You do as I tell you."

"And if I refuse?"

"If you refuse, I revoke your Agent status, and Tali has no ties to NCIS. Then, since I have no jurisdiction or authority in this case, I have no choice but to go home." Gibbs softened his tone and his stance. "Tony, if you don't trust me, this investigation is going to be far more complicated than it needs to be. And you and I both know that the longer a kidnapping investigation takes, the more likely it is that the kidnapped person won't survive." He put his arm out to catch Tony as he swayed. Clutching Tony's shoulders, Gibbs whispered, "Your best chance of getting Tali back is to trust me. And you know it."

Tony swallowed. He stepped away from Gibbs.

Gibbs nodded and introduced himself to his driver, Jacques. To his great satisfaction, Jacques didn't require any conversation on the way to the police station, allowing him to concentrate on what he immediately needed to find out about the case, and what could wait. But before he was ready, Jacques stopped the car outside the police station.

"Do you want me to wait, Agent Gibbs?"

Gibbs shook his head. "Yes." He strode inside. "I'm American NCIS Special Agent Jethro Gibbs. I'm here to meet with Captain Evrard Normandeau."

"About?" The receptionist didn't even look up.

"Tali David DiNozzo."

"The kidnapped American girl? Take a seat. Captain Normandeau will be with you as soon as possible."

"Where's the coffee machine?"

The only answer Gibbs' received was an arm waved in the general direction of a nearby window. "There's a coffee shop about half a block west of here."

"Are you telling me there's no coffee machine in this building?"

"Not for the public."

Gibbs opened his mouth to protest. The receptionist glared. Gibbs closed his mouth. He paced, straightened his tie, and paced some more. "I can't believe there's no coffee."

The inner door finally opened. "Excuse me, are you Agent Gibbs?" the policeman asked.

Gibbs stood up and shook his hand. "You must be Captain Evrard Normandeau."

"Yes sir, I am. And please, call me Evrard. Please come through."

"No time. The car that brought me from the airport is still outside. We can talk in the car."

Evrard followed Gibbs. "Where are we going?"

"I presume you've still got people at the crime scene?" Evrard nodded. "Then that's where we're going."

Evrard put his hand out and restrained Gibbs. "First we have to make sure all the paperwork is in order and get you your identification. People need to know you are authorized to work this investigation. You'll get more information out of them that way. Child slavery, kidnapping, and illegal adoption have all been in the news lately. The public are understandably guarded against giving away information to people who they think shouldn't know it. Especially information about children." Evrard led Gibbs into his office. "Then you need to tell me and the team everything you know about the kidnapped girl and everyone who might be behind this kidnapping."

'Team?"

"You didn't think you'd be doing this all own your own, did you?"

I can dream. Gibbs nodded. "You asked about suspects. That part's easy." Even though Gibbs was extremely impatient, he realized he couldn't demand his way on this investigation. Evrard was making perfect sense. People would be reticent about sharing information to strangers. He could understand that. He would never have discussed his daughter with anybody he didn't know. "Your three main suspects are: Members of the family of Eli David, former Director of HaMossad leModiʿin uleTafkidim Meyuhadim."

"Mossad? What would the national intelligence agency of Israel want with a five year old girl?"

"Her mother was Eli's daughter. She died a couple of years ago."

"That could get very tricky. Let's hope your next suggestion is a little bit easier to handle."

"Politically, you mean? I suppose breaking up a family would be easier. Well, this is your lucky day. Her grandfather, Anthony DiNozzo Senior, has not made contact with his only son since his only granddaughter went missing."

"All I care about is getting the girl back, safe and unharmed. What's your third lead?"

"It's a lot more tenuous than the other two. Tony-"

"That's the girl's father. And yes, I know about your friendship with him."

Gibbs stiffened. "We work for different teams. There's nothing illegal or unethical about me working on this case."

Evrard nodded. "True. Therefore nobody in the team will hear it from me. Your third lead?"

"Some years ago Tony was put undercover by a former NCIS director. The director's target was an international arms dealer, a French national named Rene Benoit."

"La Grenuoille?"

"You've heard of him?"

"Of course. His death made news headlines over here."

Gibbs nodded. "As his cover, the director arranged for Tony to work with La Grenuoille's daughter, Jeanne as a doctor. They fell in love, even got engaged. She blamed him for her father's death, even when they met again years later."

"Why do you think that she is a more tenuous lead than the others?" He stood up. "Scratch that. I shouldn't be discussing an open case with someone who is still technically a civilian here in France. So let's get the paperwork done for you. Your director has already sent us your employment information. We also have your fingerprints, as well as your DNA, should we need it. I seriously hope we won't."

"So do I."

"All we have to do is see if your information matches that on the documents we have, then check your fingerprints."

Gibbs opened his wallet and put every card he had on the desk. Evrard singled out Gibbs' driver's license and NCIS employment identification. Gibbs also handed over his passport. After Evrard had scanned it all into an electronic file, he printed and filed it. He then printed Gibbs a name badge and a wallet card with Evrard's contact information on it. Evrard signed them both, authorizing Gibbs to join the investigation.

Gibbs uncalled his fists and gathered everything up. "Can we continue our talk later? I'd like to go out to the scene and examine it as soon as possible."

Evrard shook his head. "We have a team meeting in ten minutes. After that, I'll take you down to the car pool and sign you out a car to use while you are here."

"A team meeting? What for?"

"First, so everyone knows who everyone is and what everyone is doing. Second, so everyone knows what everyone has found out and has a chance to voice their opinion on it."

"I'll figure it out as I go along."

Evrard stepped into Gibbs' personal space. "Agent Gibbs, if I was in your agency working with you, I would do things your way. I'd appreciate it if you'd afford myself and my colleagues the same respect and courtesy."

Gibbs nodded. "I can do courteous. Respect needs to be earned."

"This is Meeting Room Two. Our team meetings will be held in here routinely every two days. But you can call one at any time if you think it's necessary." Evrard pushed open the door. Gibbs caught it before it slapped him in the face. Inside, he saw a group of five officers, three female and two male.

"Listen up, everyone!" To Gibbs' surprise, the room was quiet almost instantaneously. "This is NCIS Special Agent Gibbs from America. He's here to help us to locate the girl and return her to her family. He has just as much authority over this case as I do, so if he asks you to do something, you do it without asking questions. Am I clear?" There was a loud round of assents. "Okay. Let's introduce ourselves to him then get him up to speed. He's eager to get out to the crime scene."

"We've already been there." The male officer who has introduced himself as Constable Victor Masson pointed between himself and two others.

Gibbs stepped forward. Damn Normandeau! The last thing I need is to start this investigation off with everyone thinking I'm a bastard. There's enough time for them to figure that out after Tali is safe at home with us. "I know that. And what you've found is going to be vital in this investigation. I always start a case like this by visiting a crime scene by myself.' He thought fast to come up with a plausible reason. He knew they knew it was unlikely he'd find any fresh evidence that would be admissible in court, and 'I just want to see where my honorary granddaughter was seen last' would get both him and Vance in trouble. "Memorizing the layout and the atmosphere of the place helps me focus on possible motives or M.O.'s of the criminal or criminals."

Evrard and he changed places and Evrard lead the team through a recitation of the things they had learned. First up were the witness statements. After ten minutes, Gibbs stepped forward. "I apologise for interrupting but this is a lot of information to take in. What was the name of the person who was in charge of the girl at the time?"

"Ingrid Persson-Kebdra. She lives by the victim."

Outwardly, Gibbs was calm. But inside, he was seething. He wanted to scream "She's not 'the victim'! Her name is Tali!", But he held back. He knew it was protocol and he would just have to deal with it until she was found. "May I have a copy of her witness statement please?"

One of the officers handed Gibbs a sheaf of papers. Gibbs read through it. Once he had the contents straight in his mind, he asked his next question. "What can you tell me about the zoo? Generally, I mean. Not on that day specifically, but on a normal Tuesday."

"It's the third biggest attraction in the area," one officer offered. "It has nearly one hundred and forty different species. What else do you want to know?"

The discussion dragged on. In less than quarter of an hour, Gibbs was restless. At the twenty minute mark he was impatient. Finally, after more than an hour, the meeting was over. Gibbs gathered up the papers he'd been given as well as the notes he'd taken. After signing out, Gibbs was free to urge Jacques to drive away as quickly as he could without calling attention to himself.

Gibbs gathered everything he needed and walked toward the Oasis Wildlife Zoo entrance. He straightened his shoulders and made sure his face was a blank mask. He showed his badge to the ticket taker along with Evrard's letter of authorization. While he was waiting to be cleared to enter, Gibbs picked up a map of the zoo as well as some other leaflets of nearby attractions. He sat down at a table outside the cafe and spread out the map.

"Excusez moi, monsieur."

Gibbs looked up from the notes he was taking. "Oui, mademoiselle?"

The woman switched to English. "Would you like to order anything? Coffee? A sandwich? A pastry?"

Gibbs gathered his things while standing up. "How about I come with you and you can recommend something to me?"

"You are new to the country?"

"I'm here on business." Gibbs surreptitiously read her name tag. "Nice to meet you, Ana's. Do you get many children through here?"

"I'm sorry. I'm not allowed to give out information about our patrons. If you want that sort of information you'll need to talk to the security department. The main ticketing office can direct you."

"Thanks. So, what do you recommend?"

"A Kouign Amann and a Cafe Americain."

"Sounds good."

"I'll bring that out to you directly."

Gibbs folded up the map. "I'll come with you. I need to buy a drink so I don't get dehydrated as I walk around."

There weren't many patrons in the cafe, so Gibbs tried to engage Anais in further conversation while she was preparing his order. "Have you worked here long?"

"I don't work here every day."

"I get that. Rent, food, clothes, education."

"How did you know I'm still in school?" Anais' tone was suspicious and she took an involuntary step back from the counter.

"I was talking about me."

Anais looked askance at Gibbs. "There's no way you're still in school. You're old."

Gibbs laughed. "That's why they call it adult education."

"Oh, I always thought that meant . . . something else." Anais' words trailed of and she blushed.

Gibbs took the extraordinarily scrumptious looking pastry from her. "Exciting job?"

"Not normally."

"But?"

"We had a little girl disappear yesterday."

"Well, I hope they find her. I don't have enough hands. Can I impose on you to bring my coffee out when it's ready?"

A few minutes later, Anais brought out a tray with four cups on it. She delivered two to a nearby table and brought the other two to Gibbs. She put one in front in front of him and sat down with the other.

"She came into the cafe at about half past nine. She was looking for an ice cream. But she asked the wrong person, a young harridan who hates kids. He told her we didn't have it, the gift shop did, even though we both do. The last I saw, the girl was heading into the gift shop." She fiddled with the handle of the cup. "I'm sick that I didn't stop her and serve her myself."

Gibbs showed her his authentication letter. "What's the staff member's name?" He made a note. "Thanks." He pulled out Tali's photo. "Is this the girl who came into the cafe?" Anais nodded. "Did she come outside before she went into the gift shop?"

"No. She went that way." Anais pointed to the left of the cafe entryway. "There's a passage inside the building that links the two. The only place she could have gone from there is the gift shop."

"Was there anyone with her when she came into the zoo?"

"Not that I saw, no. But we were both really busy that day. There were lots of people. She could have been here with any of them or none of them."

"Was there anyone with her when she came into the cafe?"

"No."

"Did anyone join her when she left the cafe?"

"Like I said, the last I saw she was heading into the gift shop and she was alone." Anais stood up and gathered up her still steaming and partly full cup of coffee. "Everyone's saying she was kidnapped. If she actually was, she could have been halfway across France before a search was started. The police took over an hour to arrive. Road blocks were only set up ten miles down the road between 4:00 and 5:30 in the afternoon. I know that because one of my coworkers who got off work at 4:00 rang me and told me they got home just fine. I got off at 5, left at 5:15, and got stopped at 5:30. I saw her at just after 9:30 in the morning. That's nearly seven hours that they did nothing. Nothing!"

"Well, let's just hope we get her home safe anyway. Did you notice what she was wearing?"

"Blue jeans, yellow top, and a pink sun hat. One of those ones with the wide brim all the way around."

Gibbs spread out some pamphlets. "Any suggestions for a good hike around here? I might stay on after the investigation is finished."

Anais picked out two pamphlets. "It depends what you're looking for. This one has some good tracks of three hours plus. Steep and wooded, definitely not for the amateur. Over here, the treks are flatter and shorter."

"Thanks for your recommendations. I read French even worse than I speak it."

"The thanks is mine. It's been nice talking to a polite customer and spending my break without being yelled for not helping customers who have been waiting forever." She put both verbal and actual air quotes around the last word.

"Can I ask you one more question? Where are the closest toilets?"

Anais pointed to the passage between the cafe and the gift shop. "On the left side of the passage."

Gibbs picked up his bag. Thanking Anais once more, he went to the toilets. He quickly ascertained that, providing both ladies' and mens' toilets were identical, there was no way anybody could have taken Tali out of the zoo except through the cafe or the gift shop. His next stop was the gift shop. All he could ascertain there was that people could leave the zoo through the gift shop, but if they wanted to reenter the zoo without paying then they had to do it through the cafe. There were no other doors, either public or "staff only" ones. Using his ID, Gibbs visited the security office. Gleaning no more useful information, Gibbs returned to the police station.

"I want Henrik Persson-Kebdra's statement."

Evrard looked up in confusion. "Wasn't it in the papers I gave you?"

Gibbs slammed the envelope down on the table. "What, you think I'm stupid? You think I miss things? There was only one statement in there, that of Ingrid Persson-Kebdra. I want to read the statement of Henrik Persson-Kebdra."

Evrard stood up. "Agent Gibbs. I do not think you are stupid or absent-minded. I do, however, know you are out of line. I made an honest mistake. One I will rectify right now." He gave the statement to Agent Gibbs. "I trust that after some sleep you will return tomorrow with a more appropriate attitude."

"I'm not going anywhere." Gibbs went to his own desk without talking to anyone else and read Henrik's statement. Even as he made notes, he realised the statement didn't add much to his knowledge of what happened. When he'd finished, he tidied everything up and locked the door. Time go home to report to Tony.

"Did you find anything useful?" Gibbs jumped at Evrard's voice.

"Every statement is useful in building a picture of the crime."

Evrard's voice hardened. "I was talking about the zoo."

"I emailed you my report." A commotion made Gibbs look down the hall. Ahead of him two cops were manhandling a kicking and screaming woman down toward the cells. "A bit early in the day for a drunk and disorderly."

"But not for domestic abuse and battery."

Gibbs stared at the door the arrested woman had been dragged through. "Battery? Her? She couldn't be more than five foot five inches high, one hundred and fifteen pounds soaking wet! Are you sure she wasn't just defending herself?"

"Sorry, I couldn't hear you from beneath the rock you live under."

Gibbs turned to face Evrard. "What did you say?"

"Would you be defending her if she was a man?"

"But she isn't."

"Being a woman doesn't preclude her from being arrested for domestic abuse and battery. Both are illegal. Full stop. Period. Man or is no excuse for either." By this time they had arrived at the front desk. Evrard leaned over and grabbed a booklet. "Here's a pamphlet we have on the subject. You might want to read it."

Gibbs put the pamphlet it in his briefcase. He was going to have to tell Tony everything, and he wasn't looking forward to it. Hopefully, Tony was asleep.


	8. Chapter 8

But Tony was still awake.

After Gibbs' dismissal at the airport, Tony had shaken the hand of the man holding the 'Mack' sign. "Good morning. I apologize for my behavior. I'm Tony, and this is my friend, Mack."

The driver touched his cap. "My name is Laurence. If you gentlemen will step this way. Where will you be going?"

Tony picked up both his and Gibbs' bags. "What do you think, Mack? Your home or mine?"

"Mine. I don't trust my super to have passed the message on to have my mail withheld."

Mack's distrust was well founded. His mailbox was overflowing. It took both of them pushing with the full force of their shoulders to get the door of his apartment open.

Tony gathered everything and put it on the two-seater kitchen table that was far too big for the space. "Mack?" Finding the room was empty, Tony stopped to listen. Realising Mack was in the bedroom, Tony sat down at the table and started sorting the mail himself. By the time he finished, there were five piles: Mack, Fliss, The Householder or Occupant, I Don't Think This Person Lives Here, and So Damaged I Can't Read The Name.

"Oi!" he yelled as a woman charged through Mack's front door. "Who are you?"

"Who are you? And what are you doing in my tenant's apartment with my tenant's mail?"

"You mean the mail you were supposed to have stopped while I was in America attending my fiance's funeral?" Mack came into view, fresh tear tracks still on his cheeks, and glared at the interloper. "Tony, meet the apartment supervisor, Clotilde Schmidt."

Tony extended his hand. "Nice to meet you, Clotilde. Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, NCIS."

Clotilde ignored the introduction. "Good to see you back, Maximilien. I'm sure you haven't had time to refill your fridge yet. Why don't you come to my apartment for dinner and we can talk."

Mack moved to the table and sat down with his back to her. "We have nothing to talk about. Please leave."

When Clotilde made to approach Mack, Tony got between them. "I believe I heard him ask you to leave."

"And I believe Mack is mistaken. We do have things to talk about," Clotilde retorted.

"Like what?" Tony pressed.

"That's between my tenant and me." Clotilde stepped to the side and peered around Tony. "I presume you still are my tenant." Mack didn't answer. "Aren't you?" Still no answer. "Maximilien!"

Mack looked up from a letter he was reading. "What? Why are you still here? I told you to leave."

"Are you still my tenant or not?"

Mack shrugged. "For now. I guess. I'm staying with Tony for a while."

"And then?"

Mack ripped open another envelope. "I'll let you know."

"When?"

Tiring of the inquisition and conscious of getting home before Gibbs, Tony turned Clotilde around and marched her toward the door. All the while, she was protesting loudly and threatening to call the police to file sexual harassment charges. "You heard him. He'll let you know."

Tony locked the door and closed it behind Clotilde. He joined Mack, noting the pile of Fliss' mail had not been touched. "You okay?"

Mack nodded. He gathered up the rest of the mail. "I know I said I'd do the laundry here, but can we do it at your place? I want to get out of here."

"You don't even need to ask."

At the car, Tony tapped on Laurence's window. Laurence nodded and let them in. "Where to?"

Tony directed him to a supermarket. As they were riding along, Tony turned in his seat. "Mack, what kind of car does Clotilde drive?"

Beside him, Mack twisted to look out the back window. "I don't know. A yellow one. Why?"

Tony relaxed. "No reason. Turn in here, Laurence."

Tony and Mack ran into the supermarket to stock up on basic supplies. Then Mack gave Laurence directions to Tony's apartment building.

While the groceries were being unloaded, Laurence gave Tony a business card. "Any time you or your friend need a ride, call me. Day or night."

"I will." Tony shook Laurence's hand and walked inside.

The apartment was quiet. Too quiet. Tony picked up a blue jacket Tali had left on the sofa. The neck still smelled of her shampoo. Tony was at the bottom of the stairway when Mack's voice stilled him.

"What do you want for lunch? I'll bring it up to you."

"Just a sandwich."

When Mack brought it up, Tony was standing in the middle of Tali's bedroom.

"Tali should be sleeping in here by now."

Mack passed Tony his sandwich. "Then we'd better get it ready for her safe return home."

"What about your mate? He's supposed to be installing the carpet, not us."

Mack spoke around a mouthful of bread, butter, ham, and cheese. "I'll make it up to him. We need the distraction more than he needs the money, anyway."

"True that." Tony bit into his cheese and pickle sandwich.

Two and a half hours later the carpet, covered in small yellow and red spots, was installed. It took a further one and a half hours to install the green curtains, and lilac rug, and to move the furniture in from the spare room.

Mack slapped Tony on the back. "I'm going for a shower."

Tony went downstairs and retrieved the blue jacket. Footsteps neared his door. Thinking Gibbs was home, Tony opened the door just in time to see Gibbs knock on the Persson-Kebdra's door. He left his door ajar to see what would transpire.

"I'm looking for" - Gibbs checked his documentation - "Ingrid Persson-Kebdra."

"Who's asking?"

Gibbs flipped open his ID. "Jethro Gibbs, Lead Agent, NCIS. I'm assisting in the disappearance of Tali David-DiNozzo."

"Why would an American government agency be investigating the disappearance of a French girl?"

"I'll explain everything to Miss Persson-Kebdra."

"Come in."

"Sorry about that, the wait I mean. Bed time story time." Ingrid greeted Gibbs. "Henrik informs me you wish to talk to me. Let's go through here."

Chairs scraping against tile told Tony they were in the kitchen.

Gibbs repeated what he'd told Henrik. "Here's my identification." Papers rustled. "I've read through your written statement. I do have some follow up questions."

"Whoa. Shouldn't this be done down at the station?"

"We could. But that would mean either hiring a babysitter or you staying behind. Both of those cause your children unnecessary stress. Either way, it means telling your daughters why a strange man is taking Mommy away before she can put them to bed. If I need any of this to be made official, we can deal with that tomorrow. For now, I just want to talk." Tony heard the movement of more papers. "This is your statement, is it not?" There was a pause. "How's Chloe?"

"She's fine. It was a virus, only lasted about twelve hours."

"She became ill the night before or the morning of the family outing, is that right?"

"She woke up unwell that morning so she stayed with me." Henrik spoke up. "Then Tali and Gretchen had a fight and I ended up with both of my girls for the day."

"So why did you carry through on your plans, Ingrid? It was supposed to be a family trip. If nobody else in your family was going, why go at all?"

The interview was interrupted by loud footsteps through the apartment.

"That's what I'd like to know."

"Tony." Henrik Persson-Kebdra held out his hand.

Tony strode over to the polished mahogany eight-seater dining room table and stared up at the gleaming chandelier that hung above it. "So?"

Ingrid toyed with her hair. "She was upset. Nothing serious. Missing her Aba, I think. Gretchen and I tried distracting her with games and sports, even some presents, but it didn't work. Neither Henrik nor I dared ask her what she wanted or what we could do to help. We were afraid we would make things worse if she asked for Fliss to come home or a trip to America to see you. So we decided on a family trip to the Oasis Wildlife Zoo."

Tony took a step closer to her. "That doesn't answer the question." Gibbs got ready to intervene if necessary.

Henrik took over the narration. "The night before she had the best sleep she'd had since you left. So we decided the trip should go ahead even when it became obvious one of us would have to stay behind."

"Okay, DiNozzo. Time to go back to your apartment. I'll be back soon and I'll fill you in on everything I've found out."

"No way." Tony glared at Ingrid and Henrik. "I want to know what steps you took to ensure my daughter didn't get kidnapped. Did you have a stranger danger plan? A code word for her to yell when she was in trouble? A place for her to go if she got lost?" The Persson-Kebdras shook their head at each question. "So you would have had no idea something was wrong until she was gone."

"We went over the basics," Henrik defended them. "Stay close. Don't get in strange cars. That sort of thing. But I suppose you, as Father of the Year, had a whole global safety plan drilled into her from the day you arrived in France?"

"Before that actually," Tony said in a superior tone.

"Then why didn't you give us a copy of it, this being her first overnight stay?"

"You never mentioned it either," Tony accused.

Ingrid knocked on the table to get their attention. "Regardless of who told who what or not, and who knew what or not, we can all agree on one thing. Tali would not be deliberately disobedient." She smiled at Tony and squeezed his hand. "That girl, one thing I can always count on is her doing exactly what she's told immediately."

Henrik stood up and gripped the edge of the table. "Except that Tony thinks his daughter isn't responsible for her actions. We are."

Tony stood up and leaned into Henrik's person space. "My daughter is a five year old child. She gets excited, distracted, curious."

"You mean she's a brat and needs more than one adult supervising her at a time. Maybe your care is as substandard as you accuse ours of being. Maybe we should be calling the authorities on you instead of the kidnappers."

Gibbs caught Tony's fist before it connected with Henrik's face. He manhandled Tony out of the apartment. "Go cool off," he growled. "I was going to take you myself, but I think it'd be better if I stay here and talk to the family alone. If you need someone to go with you, take Mack."

"Go where?"

"Polices station. I've worked all day at diverting Captain Normandeau's attention away from you. I wanted you to have at least a night to process what's happened. But you can do it now. I'll ring him and tell him to expect you."

"I thought you were going to present our interview as my statement."

"I did. He didn't accept it."

Tony realized it wasn't in his best interests to question Gibbs' orders. He stiffened his back and walked toward the lifts without acknowledging the Persson-Kebdras.

Tony had hiss hand on the door to his apartment when he realized he needed some time alone. Waiting until he heard Mack go back upstairs, he crept in and retrieved his car keys.

Unfortunately for him it was a straight run to the police station.

Evrard met Tony at the front door. Soon the two men were ensconced in Evrard's office.

"Did you have a nice holiday in America?"

"No. I started by accompanying a friend to his fiance's funeral. I ended in a military transport plane, frantic about my missing daughter."

"I need the name of this friend, and their fiance." Evrard pushed a pad of paper over.

Tony jotted down Mack's name and contact details. "And here's the name of the funeral director. He can give you the details of Meghan Felice Rowlands' funeral, etc., just in case you think I somehow planned this kidnapping to coincide with her death. And the flight details, so you can check up on them. Anything else you need?"

"You're a single parent?" Tony nodded. "No girlfriend?" Tony shook his head. "What about your daughter's mother?"

"She's dead."

"Family? Yours? Hers?"

"Me? Only child, mother deceased, father living in America. I haven't seen him in almost two years. Neither has my daughter. Here's his last known details." He scribbled on the pad. "Ziva? I don't know much about her siblings, except they live in Israel. Both her parents are dead, as is at least one sister and one brother."

"Why did you leave your daughter here? Five years old seems rather young to be abandoning her to travel halfway around the world."

"I did not abandon her," Tony ground out between clenched teeth. "I left her with mutual friends, while I went overseas to attend a funeral. When you investigate, you will confirm Fliss died unexpectedly of natural causes."

"Was she pretty?"

Tony nodded.

"Had you known her long?"

Tony considered. "Not quite a couple of years. I meet her a few months after I met Mack, I guess."

"Were they engaged at the time?"

Tony made to rise. "Their relationship has nothing to do with anything. If all you're going to do is to continue this fruitless line of questioning, I'm going."

"You said 'mutual friends,' before. What did you mean by that?"

Tony settled back down. "I was friends with Henrik and Ingrid, the parents. Tali was friends with their daughters, Gretchen and Chloe."

"At the beginning of this interview you didn't deny your time away was a holiday, yet it sounds like it was anything but. Did you think it was going to be a holiday? Five years is a long time to be a parent. Then to lose her mother and have to do it alone?" Evrard shook his head. "Must be rough."

"Actually, it happened the other way around. She died, then I met my daughter."

"That must have been even worse. Single guy with the world at his fingertips."

"What do you mean by that?" Tony glared at his interrogator.

"I know all about you."

"Then you know that I love my daughter more than anything else in this world and the next. And you know that she was fully in support of me going to America. And you know that we kept in daily contact while I was away. You can even check my phone records." After he'd added his phone numbers to the list, Tony stood up. "If you need any real information, information actually pertaining to the case, then I'll come back. But it better be based on fact, not a fishing expedition. Gibbs is the fisherman, not you. You understand?" Tony pulled open the door but he was barred from exiting.

"And I'm the Captain, understand? You leave when I say you leave. Or I'll arrest you."

"Really?" Tony yanked his arm from Evrard's grasp and straightened his jacket. "On what charge? And with what evidence? I'm an American citizen, currently employed by the American government. You'd cause an international incident just over a bruised ego? You know how to contact me if you have something concrete to talk to me about." This time, Evrard did not prohibit him from leaving.

Tony's jaw tightened as stomped out the door.

How dare he detain me like that? What does he think I did, cause Fliss to die in her sleep from half a world away just to make Tali disappear so I could get a good night's sleep and save a few bucks on child care? He must be stupid. I wouldn't come back to France if I'd done that. I wouldn't have gone back to America in the first place. I would have gotten myself lost in the Congo rainforests. I definitely wouldn't have involved NCIS. Or brought Gibbs back. Hell, next to me, there's nobody in the world who would work harder than Gibbs to get Tali back. If I'd really wanted to not get my daughter back I would have gotten my father involved instead.

His father! Tony pulled out his phone and dialed Senior's last known number. Tony paced up and down the sidewalk outside the police station. The glowing letters of the sign dimly lit his path. Eleven steps down, ten steps back, eight steps the other way.

It rang and rang and rang. "Pick up. Pick up. Pick up."

Tony kicked at a stone. "Ow." He cursed and hopped on one foot. In the midst of his cursing, the generic answer phone message began.

"The phone number you have dialed is not available at this time. The number is either turned off, out of range, or otherwise out of service at this time. Please leave a message after the tone."

"Dad, where are you? Pick up the damn phone. Pick up the damn phone. Okay, so don't pick up the damn phone. Just ring me as soon as you get this. I need to talk to you."

Tony wiped is forehead with his sleeve and peeled off his jacket. He looked around. Where could he get a cold beer around here? Not the police station obviously. Or the tire shop. The accountant? Wait. That's right, he had to drive. A root beer, then. Still, nix to the accountant. He checked his phone. No message yet. There was a dress shop, a pet store, and a shoe store. None of them were what he wanted.

He dialed Senior's number again. "Dad? I know it's afternoon where you are. You have no excuse. You need to get back to me as soon as you get this. You get that? Don't even wait to delete this message after you've heard it. Press 'Answer This Message' or 'Call Back' or whatever the menu robot says. It's urgent." The answer message beeped and stopped recording, cutting off whatever Tony wanted to say next. He rang back straight away. "Did you change your number again? Without telling us again? Do we mean that little to you? Obviously we do. So you probably don't want to know this but I'll tell you anyway. Tali's been kidnapped. Tali. You remember Tali? My daughter. Your only granddaughter. Gone. It's a good thing I've got Gibbs with me. At least he cares. At least he's help me get her back." His voice cracked then strengthened. "So you keep doing whatever it is you're doing. We don't need you. Because I'm polite and want to teach my daughter to do the right thing, I'll get back to you when she's home."

Tony shut the phone off. Weirdly, he felt cooler and calmer than he had when he left Evrard's office. Almost calm enough to face Gibbs. Almost.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I hope everybody had a great Christmas, and 2020 has started well. This story has taken on a life of its own. This made it necessary to spend the last month chopping up, rearranging, and stitching back together chapters 9-27. It's been a major undertaking!**

**-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-NCIS-**

Gibbs knocked on the door of Mack's bedroom, pushed it open and flicked on the light.

"Hey!" Mack shaded his eyes from the light with the back of his splayed hand.

"It's nearly seven o'clock." Gibbs shook Mack. "Before Tony went to America, he and Tali talked to me on that computer program. You know, the one that lets you see each other when you call?"

"Skype? So?"

"No, not that one. Tali wants a pirate bed." Gibbs dropped a roll of newsprint on the bed beside Mack. "And Tony needs a distraction." He put his empty coffee cup on the bedside table and left.

"Wouldn't it be better if he was focused on the investigation rather than distracted from it?"

"Just do it. Leave the rest to me."

Mack shrugged. Tony obviously trusted the guy, and he trusted Tony. Ergo, for now, he trusted Gibbs.

Mack checked the time on his phone. It was six twenty three in the morning. He groaned "Nearly seven o'clock, he said. He has a funny way of estimating time. It isn't even half past six yet." He rolled over and pummeled his pillow to conform to his face and head. As a consequence, the roll of newsprint fell to the floor. Half an hour later he was still awake. Since it was actually now 'nearly seven o'clock', he got up, scrunching the edge of the newsprint in the process. He took Gibbs' mug and the newsprint to the kitchen.

"I sure hope Tony knows more about this than I do. I'm an interior decorator, not an architect."

It was mid-morning before Tony appeared to answer his question.

"What's the roll of paper for?" Tony asked around a mouthful of croissant.

Mack had to guess at what Tony was asking. "Gibbs gave me a job to do." Mack scooped an omelette loaded with ham, cheese, and vegetables onto Tony's plate.

Swallowing his food, Tony grimaced. "Is Gibbs paying you?"

"Not sure." Mack grinned back. "He barged into my room at twenty three past six this morning, claiming it was nearly seven."

"That sounds like Gibbs." Tony cut through the omelet, sopping up the oozing cheese. "And?"

"He was mumbling something about Tali and pirate beds." Mack rolled the paper until the table was nearly covered. "I think he wants me to make plans for it."

"Good luck." Tony picked up his dishes and took them to the kitchen.

"Aw, come on, Tony! I barely know the guy. You really think I can come up with a plan that's going to satisfy him?"

"Gibbs told you I need a distraction, didn't he?" Tony yelled over the sound of the dishwasher.

"He seems like a bit of a bastard."

Tony grinned. "He's said that himself. 'Gibbs the second b is for bastard'."

"You do need a distraction." Mack waited until Tony came back into the room before he challenged him. "What's going to help Tali more? Drawing up plans so Gibbs can make her a pirate bed? Or you getting tossed in jail for setting fire to your next door neighbors' apartment?"

"I wouldn't do that," Tony scoffed. "Too much danger of burning down my own. And Tali wants a pirate ship bed, not a pirate bed."

"See? You do know more than I do. So? Are you in? Give Tali what she wants and save me from the Big Bad Gibbs?"

Tony laughed. "Big Bad Gibbs? He sounds like a worthy opponent. Absolutely I'm in! I'll go get some drawing implements." He returned within a few minutes with pens and pencils of all colours, felt tip pens, paints, erasers and correction fluid, as well as rulers of various lengths. He arranged them at the end of the paper.

"This is Tali's bed as it looks right now." Mack drew five rectangles with a lime green felt tip pen. Pointing at each one he recited, "Looking down on it. Left side. Right side. Head end panel. Foot end panel. Envision it now. Got that? Good. What do you envision it looking like when we've finished with it?" Tony moved to draw inside one of the rectangles and Mack stopped him. "Not there. We've got heaps of paper. Jot ideas down all over it. Cross stuff out, add stuff in. Change colours. Hell, write in Swahili or Japanese if you want to. Of course, if you do that you'll have to translate it all back to me afterward."

Tony picked up a pink pen. "And what are you going to be doing while I'm brainstorming? Sitting there making sure I don't leave the apartment?"

Mack unplugged his laptop from the charger on the kitchen bench. He sat on a bar stool at the kitchen peninsula. "It's called research. Interior decorators do it all the time. We're masters at it."

For the next few hours, they bandied around ideas. They settled on a general shape, that there were to be two portholes on either side, and a flagpole.

Tony blinked and looked at his phone. No missed calls. He was still holding out hope for a ransom demand. That's good, maybe no news is good news.

Save me, Aba. Tony dropped his phone onto the table. He stared at the image of his beautiful girl. Her eyes bored into his. Save me, Aba.

"I need a beer."

"I hope you didn't have any of that last night."

Tony stilled mid-stretch. "I beg your pardon?"

"Last night. You drove. You better not have drunk as well."

"And if I did, what are you going to do about it?"

Mack didn't look up from his computer as he made another note. "Nothing. I'm just saying alcohol isn't the wisest way to deal with the stress of losing a loved one." He snatched his fingers away as the computer lid snapped down. "Careful!"

"Tali is not dead. You hear me?"

"I never said she was!"

"Yes, you did." Tony snatched up his car keys. "I'm going out. And what I do when I'm out is neither your business or Gibbs'."

The front door hadn't finished reverberating when Tony yanked open the car door. He was on the street quicker than he would have felt safe if he had been thinking properly.

The guts of the guy! To not only hint at that, but then deny that was what he was hinting at? What was next? Tony waited impatiently to turn left at a green light. As he did, he leaned forward to peer out of the side mirror.

_That car looks familiar. Where have I seen it before? It__'s still with me._ He looked around. He was in a general shopping area. Nothing strange about a car being here. _It is a busy area. But something doesn__'t feel right._ Tony winced as his shoulder hit the door frame when he made a spontaneous right turn into a car park. By the time he'd reached the exit at other side, he could no longer see the mysterious car.

Tony looked both ways. Something made him look again. _Nope, haven__'t lost it. It's waiting there for me._ Not having a choice, Tony moved out onto the road.

"Call Mack Narcisse." Mack. Clotilde. Mack's apartment. That's where I saw it. It was following us when we left.

"Hi. This is Mack. You know the drill."

"Shit!" Tony jabbed the button to disconnect the call.

"Call Leon Vance." The call was quickly answered. "I'd like to speak to Director Vance, please."

"I'm sorry, sir. He is out of the office at the moment."

"My name is Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo. He'll take my call."

"Sorry, sir. As I said, he is out of the office."

"Then forward my call to his cell phone!" Tony said impatiently.

"I'm sorry. I don't have that number at hand."

Tony gave up. He was probably panicking over nothing. "He has my cell number. Please get him to ring me back as soon as possible. Tell him it may be a matter of national security."

"Yes, sir. Certainly. I'll get him to contact you."

"Thank you." Tony started driving around aimlessly. As long as he kept moving he'd be safe. I need pizza. At the next red light, he rang through an order. At the next, he rang them back and added dessert to his order.

He startled as his phone rang. He scrambled to answer it before it stopped ringing.

"Tony DiNozzo speaking."

"Agent DiNozzo," came Director Vance's apologetic voice. "I'm sorry I missed your call. I have a secretary from the temp agency, and she decided to ignore my clear directive to forward all calls from you or Agent Gibbs straight through to me no matter where I was or what I was doing." Tony suddenly felt extremely sorry for the anonymous secretary. "What can I do for you?"

"It's about the photo of Gibbs my friend found."

"What photo?" Vance asked.

Tony briefly told the story, downplaying everyone's role but his own.

"And what, you think Gibbs has a child he never knew about? That's hardly a matter of national security."

"That thought never crossed my mind. If it had, I'd have told Gibbs to take a DNA test, compared it to my friend's, and we wouldn't be having this conversation. Sir, Gibbs said that photo was taken on the last day he was with his family before his last deployment. So it would have been taken in Washington, D.C. Since digital cameras weren't mainstream in 1990, chances are it was taken on a film camera. It wouldn't have been developed until after Gibbs left for Camp Pendleton. Therefore it would have been in the possession of either his wife or daughter up until their deaths. Either way, it should have been in either Washington, D.C., or Camp Pendleton up until the time Gibbs returned home post physical therapy. At that time, all Shannon and Kelly's possessions that were left in Camp Pendleton would have been returned home to Washington, D.C. So, no matter where it was, it should be in Washington, D.C. now."

"What's your point, Agent DiNozzo?"

"Somehow it ended up here in Paris. Gibbs himself wouldn't have left it there. It would have been too precious to him. Plus, he's too good of an undercover agent to make such a rookie mistake. But it's the only place that Tali's kidnapping and Gibbs' undercover work have in common. Also, the photo was deliberately hidden in a secret compartment."

Director Vance cut in. "Agent DiNozzo! As interesting as this conversation is, I still don't know what you want."

"We've been followed at multiple times in the last few days. I think it's possible Gibbs may have a stalker and I want to get in front of any security risk before it causes an international incident. I believe the best way to do this is to investigate how the photo got from Washington. D.C. to Paris."

"Let me guess, Agent Gibbs knows nothing about this and you want lead so it can stay that way."

"I want all information filtered through me, that's all."

Vance sighed. "Okay. I'll sign off on it on this end. I'll patch you through to Agent McGee now."

Tony's mind was racing. "And I'll get back to you with a secure email address as soon as possible. I may need information that someone with a higher security clearance than McGee can give me."

"Director. Agent McGee speaking."

"McGee."

"Tony! Why are you calling me through the director's office?"

"Tali's still missing and I'm on a side project to keep myself busy. I need all information you can get on any undercover operation that Gibbs was involved in. That includes times, dates, and people. No matter how close or distant, I need to know everyone he came into contact with and what team they were on. Ours, another country's, non-combatants, or civilians. I need to know where they went, what they did, and how they did it. I need the goal and whether it was completed or not. And I need this for every undercover operation Gibbs was ever involved in. It doesn't matter what the agency, government, or country. I also need all Jenny Shepard's medical records. Again, it doesn't matter the medical institution, non-medical institution, agency, government, or country. I need them all and I need them yesterday."

"That's an awful lot of stuff," McGee replied. "And a lot of it is above both my security clearance and my pay grade. I'm going to have to have a good reason to do this."

"I've got two: Vance and Gibbs."

McGee breathed a sigh of relief. "Good enough for me."

Tony nodded, even though McGee couldn't see him. "I'll send Vance the email address. Send me the information as you find it."

He parked in front of the pizza parlor and made his way in.

"Hey, Tony! I was beginning to think you'd never make it."

Tony smiled politely. "Hi, Bastien. I think I caught every red light on the way here."

"Do what I do. Treat 'em like pedestrian crossings. Look both ways. If nothing's coming, put your foot in the gas and leave everyone behind in your wake."

Tony shook his head. "No wonder you seem to have a different car every time I see you."

Bastien put the last of his order up. Tony paid and left. A few minutes later, he returned.

"Did I forget something?" Bastien straightened his apron.

"Do you have a break coming up soon?"

Bastien checked his timer. "Let me talk to the boss and see if I can take it now." A few minutes later he appeared from the employee's entrance, and his apron was gone. "I'm yours for ten minutes."

"Let's go sit in my car and eat."

"Why don't you bring it in here? It's much warmer."

Tony looked around. There were only a couple of empty booths, and the music was definitely not in the background as it was supposed to be.

"Too noisy." Decision made, he went out to the sidewalk. Bastien trailed along behind him. "That's better. Now I can hear myself think." He put the pizza box on the hood of the car. "Want some?"

Bastien shook his head. "Believe me, when you're cooking something for eight hours straight, you eventually get tired of the sight, smell, and taste of it."

"Have you noticed anyone or anything suspicious while you've been out delivering lately?"

"What?" Bastien tucked his hands in his pockets.

Tony repeated the question.

Bastien looked into the car, then back at Tony. "I heard about a little girl being kidnapped from the Oasis Wildlife Zoo on Sunday. Please don't tell me it was Tali."

"I just wondered I you'd seen anything that might help find the girl?"

"If I had, or if I do, the police would be the first to know. Come on, Tony. You know me. I wouldn't withhold information from the police, not if Tali's life is at stake. Which it isn't. Is it?" Bastien looked over his shoulder. "It looks like there's a rush starting. I'd better get back. If I find out anything at all suspicious, I'll let the police know, then ring you as well. Just in case they don't do their jobs properly. You can't be too careful."

Driving home, Tony reviewed his conversation with Bastien. Something just wasn't right. Something Bastien said had made his Special Agent instinct rear its ugly head. After wrestling with it for a while, he decided that he would mention his suspicions to Gibbs. Gibbs would know what he was missing.

As Tony drove home he kept an eye out for the car. But it seemed to have disappeared. Relieved, he dumped his trash into the bin outside and pushed open the foyer door.

"Tony!"

Tony changed direction from the stairs to the elevator. "Henrik."

"Any news?"

"No."

"Well, if there's anything we can do."

"There isn't." Tony gesticulated when the door opened. "Are you taking it or am I?"

"You take it."

Tony stepped in. He pressed the button for his floor then stood facing the back wall until the doors shut. When they opened, Mack was walking away from him.

"Hey! How come you didn't answer your phone?"

Mack kept walking.

"Don't you walk away from me." Tony caught up with Mack and pushed him into the apartment.

Mack swung around, pushing himself away from Tony. "Are you drunk?"

"I've told you before. I'm not accountable to you for what I eat or drink." He hung his keys up. "Would I be able to do that if I was drunk? You didn't answer my question."

Mack checked his phone. "At the time you rang, I was chatting to Maman."

"Nice. I've lost my loved one, and you ring yours."

"About that. I'm really sorry. I didn't know what that could mean to people."

Tony searched Mack's face for any sign of deceit. He didn't see any. But he had to check. "Nobody has said 'I'm sorry for your loss' after Fliss died?"

Mack worried his lip. "Not that I remember. They might have. But if they did, I don't remember. I never meant to imply that."

"You honestly think she's still alive?"

"I do." Seeing Tony relax, Mack indicated the table. "I had some more ideas."

"Looks like more than a few. You can show me after dinner." Tony picked up a piece of paper from the floor. "You'd think an interior decorator could rip in a semi straight line."

He crumpled it and aimed. It hit Mack on the forehead and landed on his open laptop.

"Oh, you are so on!"

Mack grabbed the pellet and threw it. He ducked under the table and quickly fashioned more. He scanned the room, spying half a foot behind an armchair. Creeping to the corner of the table, he threw a pellet.

"Damn!"

Mack laughed. "I thought NCIS agents knew how to hide." Under cover of another barrage, he ran and crouched behind the kitchen bench. But he was not quick enough. A large wad of paper hit him in the back. "Where are the rubbish bags?"

"Why? You sick of getting hit already?" Tony stood up. "I may not be able to hide, but my aim is still as accurate as ever."

"Hoops competition. Loser makes dinner."

"You're on. Pantry, third shelf, left side, at the back."

Mack retrieved a bag and hung it from the hook on the back of the entryway door.

Tony crumpled an early version of the ship's stern. "Fifteen shots at twenty paces."

"Turn about or straight through?"

"Turn about."

The two men stepped out their twenty paces.

"Paper, Scissors, Rock?"

Tony threw one of his missiles in Mack's direction. "Stop trying to delay the inevitable and throw."

Mack shrugged. "You asked for it." His first attempt went wide, whereas Tony's was successful.

"1-0 to me."

At 7-3, in Tony's favor, Mack swung his arm for maximum power. Just as he let go, the bag moved. The apartment lightened and the door swung open.

Gibbs ducked to avoid being hit by the ball of paper, which was the size of his head.

"Children!" he chastised.

"Sorry, Gibbs," Mack and Tony chorused.

"Care to explain?"

"Tony's been engineering a design for Tali's new bed."

"And Mack's been researching materials."

"That explains everything but the paper flying at my head as I came in the door."

Tony pointed at Mack. "He described my parrot as a giraffe with anorexic legs and said my steering wheel thingy was a pizza."

"I told you it was called a helm," Mack insisted.

"Actually it's called a wheel. Add it to the rest of the steering mechanism and you get the helm." Gibbs moved to the bench and poured himself a fresh up of coffee. "And I suppose this is your attempt at tidying up?"

"Mack's cooking dinner."

"Hey. we've still got 5 shots each left. If I get all of mine, I'll beat you."

"And if I get this one," Tony tossed it, "I win." It went in.

Groaning, Mack opened the fridge. "You might regret this."

Tony gathered the papers from the table. "I'll put these on Tali's bed."He felt, rather than saw, Gibbs and Mack tense up. "Don't worry, I won't get lost up there. I have to get rid of the rubbish bag."

Once he was upstairs, he found his promise harder to keep than he expected. This room is exactly what Tali wants. She's going to love her bed. I wonder if she's hungry.

Tony shook his head to clear it. He closed the door softly and made his way down the stairs. He was nearly at the bottom when he heard a question from Gibbs.

"So?"

"Nothing." Mack's answer was barely decipherable.

"Nothing?" Tony recognized frustration in Gibbs' voice.

"Not a word."

I wonder what that's about? Tony plastered a grin on his face and retrieved a ball of newsprint off the kitchen floor before Gibbs could trip over it.


End file.
